Senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai has warned those attempting to stop the celebration of Lord Ganesha festival in Karnataka and said they will not remain silent if someone hurts the Hindu sentiments.

He also said that the great Sanatan Dharma was flowing in his veins.

"Should we have to keep quiet if our Sanatan Dharma is compared to Malaria? Sanathan Dharma is flowing in our veins. We will not keep quiet if someone tries to hurt our sentiments," he warned.

Speaking at the Hindu Jagruthi convention at Bankapur in Haveri district on Saturday, the former CM alleged that attempts were being made to stop Ganapati celebrations.

"We belong to the Sanatan Dharma which promotes the welfare of all the human beings in this world. People belonging to all religions live here unlike Pakistan or Afghanistan, where it is not possible," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.

"Everyone is accepted here. For this nature of the Sanatan Dharma, some call it dengue and Malaria. Do they have the guts to compare other religions to such diseases? What would have happened if they did it?" asked Bommai.

When the BJP was in power in the State, no evil force was allowed to raise its ugly head, he claimed.

Referring to the 2020 DJ Halli-KG Halli violence, he said, "The culprits of the riots in Bengaluru were not spared but later the Congress leaders wrote letters seeking the withdrawal of the cases against those involved in the arson and looting in those two places," Bommai charged.

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