'Not Condemning a Religion': Karnataka BJP MLA Eshwarappa Clarifies After Azan Remark in Mangaluru

Karnataka BJP MLA KS Eshwarappa, whose remarks on Allah and Azan at the Vijay Sankalp Yatra in Mangaluru on Sunday have stoked a controversy, said on Monday he did not mean to condemn the religion but was voicing the sentiments of general public.

“Exams are taking place. Students, who sit down to study for exams, get completely disturbed as soon as they listen to this (Azan). I did ask whether Allah can’t hear or if he’s deaf, true. Someone must put out the feelings of general public for that reason. This is not condemning a religion. Allah can hear but these Muslims put 3-4 mics and shout, will it go inside Allah’s ears?” Eshwarappa said on Monday.

The MLA had stopped his speech in Mangaluru while the Azan was being played in the background. He called it a “headache”, and questioned the practice and whether Allah can hear only if they “shout” using a mic.

“(Azan plays in background) Wherever I go, this is a headache for me. There’s SC (Supreme Court) judgment, today or tomorrow it’ll be finished. No doubt in it… Can Allah only hear if you shout with a mike? Even we do Puja, women do bhajans. But if Allah can hear only if they use a mike, we have to call him deaf. There’s no need, this problem must soon be cleared,” said Eshwarappa.

The Karnataka High Court had last August ruled that Article 25 of the Constitution confers fundamental right on persons to freely profess, practise and propagate their religion. However, the right is not absolute but is subject to restrictions. It had declined the petition that contended that uttering Azan in the mosque through loudspeakers hurt religious sentiments of others.

The Supreme Court had in its 2005 order ruled that loudspeakers could be allowed till midnight on festive occasions for 15 days a year.

Eshwarappa’s statement on Azan came after he made a comment in Mangaluru that freedom fighters of the country did not lay down their lives to build roads, drainage or buildings but to develop Dharma.

“The reason why we got freedom was to develop our Dharma and nation. All the freedom fighters in heaven, Savarkar, Chandrashekar Azad, Bose, did they bring freedom to build drainage in your villages? To build roads and buildings?” Eshwarappa asked his audience at the Yatra.

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