An uproar erupted on Sunday after clips of a speech by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya went viral. Surya had delivered the speech at the Sri Krishna Mutt in Udupi, Karnataka, on Saturday.
In the speech, Surya had vigorously appealed to Hindus to reconvert those people who had left the faith for other religions. Surya had even called on temples and mutts to set “targets” for reconversion.
On Monday morning, Tejasvi Surya tweeted he had withdrawn the remarks, as they caused an “avoidable controversy”. He tweeted, “At a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt two days ago, I spoke on the subject of ‘Hindu Revival in Bharat’. Certain statements from my speech has regrettably created an avoidable controversy. I therefore unconditionally withdraw the statements.”
Tejasvi Surya’s remarks had invited criticism on social media from opposition figures, commentators and other users. Congress social media activist B. Srivatsa contrasted Tejasvi Surya's statements to the state of infrastructure in Bengaluru; Surya is the Lok Sabha MP for Bengaluru South. Srivatsa tweeted, “No major infra project in Bengaluru has been completed by BJP Triple engine govt but Bengaluru's infra has collapsed, roads are worst ever. No yearly targets for these @Tejasvi_Surya? Tejasvi & Bengaluru are symbolic of what's wrong with New India. No work. Only bigoted talk.”
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However, Tejasvi Surya also got support even as he withdrew the statements. Ajay Sehrawat, a spokesperson for the Delhi BJP unit, tweeted, “No Regret ,No Repentance, No Sorrow, No Grief. Full support to...”