Bijapur City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, known for his strong Hindutva views, announced on Sunday that he plans to start a campaign offering a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh to Hindu boys who marry Muslim girls. He said this is to support Hindu youths, whom he claimed are not safe in Karnataka because the government protects only minority communities, not the majority.
Yatnal spoke about a recent incident in Koppal where a Hindu youth named Gavisiddappa Nayak was killed. He said, “The accused even made social media reels showing weapons, yet the police were stopped by the government from taking strong action.” He questioned why people should not be allowed to love Muslim girls, asking, “Where is it written that they should not be married?” He added, “We will continue this campaign to give Rs 5 lakh to Hindu youths who marry Muslim girls. The government has supported the murder in Koppal by not acting properly. The person who killed the youth even flaunted a long knife on social media, but the police were restrained. We will fight until justice is served to that family. The Chief Minister should apologize to the people and give compensation to the victim’s family.”
After meeting the family of the slain youth, who belongs to the Valmiki community, Yatnal described the attack, saying, “The youth was attacked with machetes and sharp weapons by a gang in front of a mosque, but no one tried to stop the attack.” He accused the government of protecting minorities in cases related to so-called ‘love jihad’ and said, “This government is only for Muslims. I will raise this issue in the House during the upcoming session.”
Yatnal also urged the government to treat the murder of Nayak as a communal crime and provide compensation according to the relevant rules. Police have arrested three suspects, while the main accused surrendered along with weapons shortly after the murder, which happened on the night of August 3.
