Twitter again mocks Union Minister Ananth Hegde

BJP leaders’ love for not only the cow but for other animals find strange outlets. In April this year BJP president Amit Shah had likened political parties in the opposition to snakes, mongoose, dogs and cats who had ganged up against the BJP! And now it was Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hedge who said that the Opposition parties are no better than crows, monkeys, foxes and donkeys, among other animals, for having ganged up to take on BJP in the upcoming elections.

Addressing a rally in Karnataka, the motor-mouth minister who is known for making outrageous statements, said: “The upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections are very important for us. Crows, monkeys, bears, foxes and others have all come together. On one side, we have a tiger standing, on the other, there are monkeys and donkeys. In 2019, you decide who should win, a tiger or donkeys and monkeys.”

In the same breath, he told the gathering, “You are sitting on plastic chairs isn't it? (asking the audience). This is due to Congress rule, had we (BJP) ruled for 70 years, you would have been sitting on silver chairs.”

But the minister had not bargained for trolls on Twitter. As his statement made the rounds of social media, Twitter exploded with jokes and memes with several users pointing out how he had outshone Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb, known for his equally bizarre statements. In fact, after becoming the chief minister of Tripura, Biplab has triggered more jokes on social media than Aliya Bhat.

On a more serious note, some users told the minister that his government should first talk about providing food, education and healthcare to all. Here’s a collection of reactions to his remarks:

Earlier in January, Hedge’s remarks about changing the Constitution had sparked off anger among Dalits. When confronted by angry protesters, he compared Dalits with “barking dogs”.

In December last year, he kicked up a storm by describing “secular people” as those who do not have an identity of their parental blood. In the same month, he called former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah a “boot licker”, alleging that “Karnataka is becoming a home for terrorists. “I won’t be shocked if CM Siddaramaiah will go ahead and carry out Kasab Jayanti in the future,” he had declared.

Not so surprisingly, he had commissioned a documentary about himself, titled “The Real Hindu” to spread his own legend a few years ago. The documentary lists the “ghar wapsi” of 300 Christian converts as his biggest achievement.