New Delhi: After landing himself in a controversy by asking corporators to work only for Hindus – who had voted for him – and not for the Muslim community, Karnataka BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal defended his comments by saying elections were a “war between Hindus and Muslims”.According to the Indian Express, speaking at an event in Vijayapura on June 4, Yatnal said: “I had called all corporators and have told them that they should work for Hindus and not Muslims…who have voted for me in Bijapur. Hindus are the one who ensured my win in the elections. I will work to develop the Hindu community, not the Muslims.”In a video of the speech that has now gone viral, the Bijapur MLA can also be heard saying that he had instructed corporators to not allow those in a cap and those wearing a bukha – a stereotypical representation of Muslims – to come in his office or stand beside him.On Thursday, Yatnal defended his stand and admitted that he had asked Muslims not to vote for him, according to a report in The Hindu.The BJP leader also lashed out at the media and said that nowadays the coverage is biased. “The media won’t question Muslim leaders like Abdul [Asaduddin] Owaisi who comment against Hindus but you people question only Hindus. Media is biased,” he said, according to The New Indian Express.Yatnal further said that he was working only to protect the Hindus who were in trouble and questioned whether standing for the Hindus is “wrong in this country”.(With PTI inputs)
