Senior Karnataka BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa has put his party in a spot by appealing to the Prime Minister to enact a law to shoot and kill “traitors” who threaten calls for a separate south India over alleged financial neglect from the Centre.

“They are traitors. They apparently want to split the nation into pieces. I suggest a law by which they can be shot and killed,” the former Karnataka deputy chief minister, known for his controversial comments, had said in Davanagere on Friday.

He was referring to Congress leader and Lok Sabha member D.K. Suresh and Vinay Kulkarni who recently triggered a huge uproar by saying that southern states would have to seek a separate nation if the Centre continued to starve the region of funds.

Suresh, the younger brother of deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, made the contentious statement while talking to reporters in Delhi soon after the Union budget on February 1.

Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni made a similar statement on February 7 in Delhi while talking to a TV channel on the sidelines of the Congress protest led by chief minister Siddaramaiah at Jantar Mantar against the denial of the state’s due share in
tax revenues.

Kulkarni had told the channel that “such a situation might arise” if the Union government continued its injustice to southern states.

However, Eshwarappa’s exhortation to kill “traitors” has not gone down well with his own party. The BJP leader on Saturday made a U-turn by claiming he never asked for anyone to be killed.

“I never said shoot and kill D.K. Suresh. Such a statement never emerged,” he said following two police cases booked against him in Davanagere and Bangalore.

The Davanagere police have already issued a notice asking him to appear before them to record his statement. He has been booked under IPC Sections 505 (statements conducting public mischief) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

State home minister G. Parameshwar told reporters on Saturday that stringent action would be taken against Eshwarappa.

Suresh challenged Eshwarappa to kill him at his convenience. “I will come and stand before you if you can set the time. Why get someone else to shoot me? Please fulfil your wishes and win laurels from your leaders,” he told reporters on Saturday.

Former chief minister and one-time arch-rival B.S. Yediyurappa was the only senior leader to defend Eshwarappa. “Everyone has misunderstood Eshwarappa. He had only sought a law to shoot and kill traitors,” he told reporters
on Saturday.