Tabu Gundu Rao, wife of minister Dinesh Gundu Rao lashed out at Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha for dragging her into a controversy and said that he should follow the principles of Kuvempu’s philosophy instead of ‘sowing the seeds of ill will in the society’.
On Saturday, April 14 Gundu Rao during a candlelight protest to condemn the Katua rape had allegedly asked the people of Karnataka to thrash Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath with chappals accusing him of shielding the rape-accused BJP MLA.
On Sunday, the BJP MP Pratap Simha took to social media and criticized the Congress minister for using offensive words against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. “If Gundu Rao had used the same words against a Mulla or a Maulvi, his Begum (wife) Tabu would do the same thing (thrash with chappals) to him. If Mr Rao does not know how to control his tongue, we may have to teach him a lesson,” he said.
Taking strong objection for dragging her into the controversy, Tabu posted on Facebook, “I am deeply hurt and aggrieved by the derogatory and objectionable reference to me by the honorable MP of Mysuru, Mr Pratap Simha, in a video clip being circulated on social media and regional television networks (sic).”
“If Mr Simha is anguished by a statement made by my husband Mr Dinesh Gundu Rao in his capacity as the working president of the Congress, the MP is free to join issue with him, but to drag the womenfolk of the household into the controversy smacks of cowardice,” she said.
She added that the words by the BJP MP exposed his communal and narrow mindset. “The MP’s reference to me as ‘Begum Tabu’ only exposes his communal and narrow mindset. It is no secret that I am a Muslim and am married to a Brahmin. We have been happily married for over two decades symbolizing India’s unity in diversity.”
“As the honourable MP hails from Mysuru, I would urge him to follow poet laureate Kuvempu’s Vishwa Manava (Universal Brotherhood) philosophy instead of sowing the seeds of ill will in the society,” she added.
However, he apologized day a after the BJP leaders protested against him and complained to the Election Commission.
