Taking strong exception to the former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s IS link comment, the former president of Anjuman-e-Islam of Dharwad Ismail Tamatgar has said that Mr. Yatnal has lost his mental balance because of which he is making baseless remarks.
Speaking to presspersons in Dharwad on Thursday, Mr. Tamatgar said that after the debacle in the Assembly elections in the State, the BJP high command has not considered Mr. Yatnal for any senior position.
Consequently, Mr. Yatnal seems to have gone into depression resulting in such baseless remarks. “Dharwad has a British era mental hospital and if Mr. Yatnal is mentally depressed, he can come over and take medicine and treatment free,” he said.
Mr. Tamatgar said that the winter session of the State Legislature in Belagavi is meant for addressing important issues of North Karnataka. And, instead of participating in constructive discussion on those issues, Mr. Yatnal is unnecessarily trying to create controversies and wasting the precious time of the session besides hurting the sentiments of Muslims.
Mr. Yatnal should stop such acts, he said.
He also said that the issue of defamatory remark on a Muslim cleric will be deliberated upon during the meeting of the Muslim organisation to decide the further course of action.
To a query on whether he intended to contest the Lok Sabha polls against sitting MP and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, he said that he has no such intention. Moreover, the current situation favoured Mr. Joshi. Hence, there is no point in contesting against him, he said.
Mr. Tamatgar has twice unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections.
