Jaipur (PTI): Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said anyone who speaks against the Sanatan Dharma would have his tongue pulled out and his eyes gouged out.

A video of Shekhawat making the purported remarks went viral on social media. He was speaking at a public rally in Barmer district of poll-bound Rajasthan last week during BJP's Parivartan Yatra.

Reacting to the recent comments made by Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin against the Sanatan Dharma, Shekhawat said, "We have to stand up to the challenge. We will pull out the tongue of anyone who speaks against Sanatan. We will also gouge out those eyes raised against Sanatan."

"We challenge that no person who speaks against Sanatan will be able to maintain political position and power in this country. They try to attack our culture and history," he said.

On September 2, Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, had alleged that the Sanatan Dharma is against equality and social justice, and that it should be eradicated. He also likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria, and dengue fever.

In the rally, Shekhawat also said the opposition INDIA alliance is a grouping of those who have been involved in various scams like fodder scam and others. He said opposition parties' objective is to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"(Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge says that if Modi wins, Sanatan will become powerful, hence there is a need to defeat him. Two days ago, the DMK Chief Minister's son made remarks against Sanatan. He (Udhayanidhi Stalin), while comparing it to coronavirus, says that Sanatan culture should be eliminated from the country," the Jodhpur MP said.

Shekhawat said that many invaders tried to weaken Indian culture for 2,000 years.

"Rulers like Alauddin Khilji and Aurangzeb tried but ancestors of yours and mine were capable and protect the culture. We swear by all those ancestors, whether it is Maharaja Surajmal, Veer Durgadas or Maharana Pratap, that we will not tolerate those who attack Sanatan. We will throw them away," the Union jal shakti minister said.

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Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.

During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.

“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.

He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.

However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.

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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.

The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.

“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.

However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.

He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.

“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.

Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.

“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.

Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.

According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.

He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.

In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.

Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.

The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.

“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.

Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.

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