Karnataka minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan has stirred a controversy by calling Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy ‘Kalia’. The Janata Dal (Secular) has demanded the Congress government to sack Zameer from the cabinet for the racist remark. Addressing an election rally in Ramnagar on Sunday, Khan had said that Congress candidate from Channapatna C.P. Yogeshwar had no choice but to join the BJP before this.
The minister said, “Due to some differences in our party (Congress), he contested the election as an independent candidate. He had no option but to join the BJP. He was not ready to join the JD(S) because ‘Kalia Kumaraswamy’ was more dangerous than the BJP. Now he (Yogeshwar) is back home (to the Congress).” In the Channapatna assembly by-election, Yogeshwar is pitted against Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is contesting as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate on a JD(S) ticket.
The JD(S) strongly objected to Jamir’s statement and questioned the colour of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, ministers H.C. Mahadevappa, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge and K.H. Muniyappa. The party said, “A person with a small mentality should be immediately sacked from the Cabinet.” Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also condemned Khan’s statement. In a post on ‘X’, Rijiju said, “I strongly condemn Congress leader Khan for calling Union Minister and former Karnataka CM Shri Kumaraswamy ‘Kalia Kumaraswamy’. This is a racist remark, just like Rahul Gandhi’s advisor likening South Indians to Africans, Northeast people to Chinese and North Indians to Arabs.”