BJP MP for Uttara Kannada and former Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde has published on his Facebook page a communally charged article against Tablighi Jamaat followers and the community in general in relation to COVID-19 pandemic.

The article accuses Tablighi Jamaat of involvement in “various terrorist acts” across the world over the last three decades and alleges a conspiracy by the jamaat to spread COVID-19 in India. It goes so far as to ask if peaking of COVID-19 cases in the United States of America was also a conspiracy by Tablighis.

The article comes days after Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa warned of stringent action against those communalising the pandemic. A few days ago, BJP national president J.P. Nadda directed party’s leaders not to give a communal colour to the pandemic. Mr. Hegde has made communally charged statements targeting the minority community several times in the past.