Karnataka Minister’s wife attacks BJP for dragging her into Savarkar controversy

Tabassum Rao, the wife of Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, on Friday lodged a complaint with state Women’s Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary regarding a “derogatory” social media post against her by the BJP.
The tweet, posted in Kannada on Karnataka BJP’s X handle, targeted Tabassum over her husband’s recent remark where he claimed that Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was non-vegetarian and consumed beef.
The tweet targeted Tabassum for her faith, saying if she, coming from a Muslim community, influenced her husband.
In a tweet, Tabassum called out the state BJP unit and even tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“BJP’s cowardice is on full display. They can’t confront my husband, so they drag me into their petty debates. It’s shameful that they target family members who aren’t even in politics. When will they learn to focus on real issues instead of resorting to cheap tactics?” she said in the tweet.
“Filed a complaint with Karnataka Women’s Commission against BJP for their continuous derogatory and communal statements against me, despite not being in active politics. Attacking a woman is petty. Women deserve respect, not abuse,” she said in another tweet.
Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is the state Health Minister, courted controversy on Thursday after he said that Savarkar wasn’t against cow slaughter.
“Savarkar, a ‘Chitpavan Brahmin’, used to eat meat. He was a non-veg eater and he was not against cow slaughter. He was modern in a way. Some say that he used to eat beef as well. As a Brahmin, he used to eat meat and was openly propagating eating meat. So he had that thinking,” the minister said.
Even as he received criticism for his remark, Rao did not withdraw his statement.
“Sorry for speaking the truth,” Rao said in a tweet.