BJP Leader Shobha Karandlaje Retracts Comments Blaming Tamil Nadu People For Bengaluru Blast

Following outrage over her comments on Tamils in connection with the Bengaluru bomb blast case, BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje has retracted her controversial remarks.

In a post shared on X, the Bengaluru North's BJP candidate said, "To my Tamil brothers & sisters, I wish to clarify that my words were meant to shine light, not cast shadows. Yet I see that my remarks brought pain to some - and for that, I apologize."

"My remarks were solely directed towards those trained in the Krishnagiri forest, linked to the Rameshwaram Cafe blast. To anyone from Tamilnadu effected, From the depths of my heart, I ask your forgiveness. Furthermore, I retract my previous comments," she tweeted.

Although the National Investigation Agency, which is probing the Rameshwaram bomb blast case, has not disclosed any links of the bomber with Tamil Nadu, Karandlaje exclaimed, "At Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, people shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' and no case was registered for about a week. Then, people come from Tamil Nadu. They get trained there and place bombs here. They planted bomb in the cafe. After that, another person comes from Kerala and hurls acid at three of our women students."

This garnered a lot of criticism on social media.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin condemned her comments and called her remarks as "reckless". "Clearly, she lacks the authority for such assertions. Tamilians and Kannadigas alike will reject this divisive rhetoric of BJP. I also urge for appropriate legal action against Shobha for causing a threat to peace, harmony and national unity," his tweet read.

However, the BJP leader hit out at the Tamil Nadu CM and wrote, "Mr. Stalin, What has become of Tamil Nadu under your rule? Your appeasement politics have emboldened radical elements to attack on Hindus & BJP workers day and night. Frequent bomb blasts bearing the hallmarks of terror outfits like ISIS explode while you turn a blind eye," the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare tweeted.

"FYI, the Rameshwaram bomber was trained in Krishnagiri forests under your nose," she added.