The BJP leader who was at the forefront of hate campaign against Muslim students protesting to wear hijab to college premises in Karnataka, Yashpal Suvarna, has got the party ticket from the Udupi Assembly constituency.
On Tuesday night, the party released its initial list and replaced incumbent BJP MLA Raghpathi Bhat with Suvarna, who will be making his debut in the upcoming election.
The party members think that his involvement in the anti-hijab campaign, in his capacity as the Vice-President of the Development Committee of Udupi Government PU Girls’ College, further strengthened his “qualifications.”
The Udupi Government PU Girls’ College is where Muslim students staged their demonstrations against the arbitrary hijab prohibition, and Suvarna was one of the most hardline advocates during the hijab campaign.
He went so far as to label the six Muslim students who had taken legal action over the issue as “terrorists.” He maintains that he stands by his hate speech because those who do not abide by the country’s laws are deemed “anti-national.” “The girls have proved once again that they are not students but members of a terrorist organisation,” he said.
He was the instigator who distributed saffron shawls to students to counter the girls who wanted to wear the hijab, which led to the outbreak of violence.
In his young age, Suvarna gained a following among Hindu nationalists for his involvement with the Bajrang Dal and his reputation as a cow vigilante. In 2005, he was among the main suspects in the case of stripping and publicly parading a man and his son, who were accused of transporting calves. He was later acquitted by a trial court.
