Let there also be noiseless Fridays, bloodless Bakrid: Senior BJP leader Yatnal

Along with eco-friendly Ganesha festival and noiseless Deepavali, let's also celebrate noiseless Friday, bloodless Bakrid, he said

Firebrand BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Monday called for “noiseless Friday, bloodless Bakrid and crackerless 31st night” in an apparent jibe at non-Hindu festivals and practices.

In a social media post, Yatnal, a former union minister, suggested that only Hindu festivals came under the scanner for their practices.

“Hindus come together once in a year to celebrate Ganesha, Dasara-Durga pooja, Deepavali...But, during the Ganesha festival, it is preached to have eco-friendly idols and that Deepavali should be noiseless,” Yatnal said.

“Going forward, along with eco-friendly Ganesha and noiseless Deepavali, let us have a noiseless Friday, bloodless Bakrid and crackerless 31st night (New Year’s Eve),” he said.

“Let’s not have blood flow on Bakrid, no crackers on 31st night, no shouting on the speaker on Friday, no namaz on the roads and no firecrackers on the streets,” he said. “We will light a lamp at home, let them do namaz without a loudspeaker and not on the road.”

Yatnal’s comments come just days after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa urged citizens to celebrate the upcoming Deepavali in a simple manner by opting for ‘green crackers’.

Yatnal, the Bijapur City MLA, is not new to controversies. In 2018, Yatnal publicly asked BJP councilors not to work for Muslims and that he did not need their votes. In October 2019, Yatnal was issued a show-cause notice by the party for criticizing the BJP government in providing flood relief.

Last month, Yatnal publicly claimed that Yediyurappa’s time was up and that he would be replaced as chief minister by someone from north Karnataka.