New Delhi, March 14, 2023 (PPI-OT): Senior BJP leader and former minister KS Eshwarappa has made a controversial statement on azaan (the Muslim call for prayers). The BJP leader was addressing a public gathering in Bengaluru state of Karnataka when azaan was recited from a mosque nearby. As soon as the azaan started, a visibly irked Eshwarappa began ranting against loudspeakers being used for the call to prayers, media reports said. The controversial remarks have the potential to again stoke the azaan debate, which had reached the high court last year.

“Wherever I go, this (azaan) gives me a headache,” he said. “Supreme Court’s judgment is due, if not today, this call for azaan will come to an end”, the BJP leader claimed. “In temples, girls and women offer prayers and bhajans. We are religious, but we don’t use loudspeakers, reports quoting him as saying. Eshwarappa also said, “I never told that we do not need Muslim votes. Our party needs vote of Muslims who are nationalists only.”

Eshwarappa, who has also served as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister, is no stranger to controversies. He earlier sparked a row when he referred to 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan as a “Muslim gunda (goon)”. The senior leader had to step down as a minister last year in the wake of a contractor’s suicide. Eshwarappa was named in the police case as the contractor had accused him of being “solely responsible” for his death in the final messages.

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