Not roads or water, K'taka polls about Hindus vs Muslims: BJP MLA Sanjay Patil

Bengaluru: With less than a month left for Karnataka Assembly election, a BJP MLA of the state has provoked outrage with his comment that the May 12 election is "not about roads and drinking water but about Hindu-Muslim incidents".

A video of the comments by MLA Sanjay Patil in Belagavi is in wide circulation in the run-up to the assembly polls.

"I am Sanjay Patil, I am Hindu, this is a Hindu rashtra (nation) and we want to build the Ram temple. If Lakshmi Hebbalikar (Congress candidate and president of KPCC women's wing) says she can build the mandir - vote for her. They will build Babri Masjid instead. Whoever wants Babri Masjid, Tipu Jayanthi they should vote for the Congress. And who wants Shivaji Maharaj and Ram Mandir and Shambhaji Maharaj should vote for the BJP," the MLA is heard saying in Kannada at what appears to be a public meeting.

It is however, not clear from the video when and where it was recorded.

Sanjay Patil represents the Belagavi Rural constituency in north Karnataka, which is near the state’s border with Maharashtra.

This is not the first time one of his videos has caused a flutter.

In another clip in 2017, Sanjay Patil is heard shouting and threatening a police officer who was trying to maintain order during a motorcycle rally.