Two days after Karnataka minister B Nagendra resigned from his post, another minister from chief minister DK Shivakumar’s cabinet has invited controversy and calls for his resignation after he declared Islam “superior to other religions.”
This religion teaches how a human should live in society,” he said, news agency PTI reported. “Islam is a great religion full of humanity. But wrong notions are being spread about Islam in society.
Speaking at a mass marriage programme organised by the Muslim community in Kuknoor on Saturday, Basavaraj Rayareddi said that Islam is the “greatest” and expressed his desire to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage at least once.
“You put on a show of visiting temples at dawn, performing devotion in front of the cameras, but why do you stay silent only when a minister in your own cabinet makes derogatory statements about Sanatan Hindu Dharma and temples, Mr. DKShi? Ashoka demanded that Rayareddi must withdraw his statements and apologise to all Hindus in the state, and if he is not prepared to do so, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar must demonstrate his commitment by removing him from the Cabinet. Ashoka added that if the minister does not withdraw his comments or resign, it will imply that the temples are not for devotion, but a medium of votes for the government.
He added that he has tried to study the Quran and other religions and their history and said that it is not limited to Muslims alone and can be studied by everyone.
