Tattoo insults the Hindu goddess, says BJP leader

We did not force him to write an apology letter. He voluntarily gave that letter, says Ramesh Yadav.

The local politician attached to Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP), who took objection to an Australian law student sporting a tattoo, R V Ramesh Yadav, spoke to The Hindu on Monday. Excerpts:

Q: Were you at the hotel when the incident happened? The Australian law student has alleged you abused him for the tattoo. Why?

A: Yes, I was at the Konark Hotel with three other people and saw this youth sporting a tattoo of a Hindu goddess on his leg. We went up to him and asked him what was the tattoo and he said it was Yellamma, a Hindu Goddess. So he was aware that it was a goddess and still he was insulting it. We asked him to remove the tattoo or we would protest.

But he started abusing us with foul language. He also called up his friend, a localite who turned up soon. The friend also used foul language and others at the hotel joined in to condemn this. You can check the CC TV footage at the hotel.

One of us called up Ashok Nagar police. They came and whisked the couple away to the police station. There also he was arguing. Later he gave an apology letter to the police after which my I intervened and my friend withdrew the complaint he had lodged. It was amicably settled.

Q: Many sport tattoos on the shin, calf muscles as well. What is wrong with it?

A: It is insulting the Hindu goddess and also provocative. When we came to know that it was a permanent tattoo, we only asked him to wear a pair of trousers and cover it, for his own safety.

We noticed it fine. But if he was roaming on the streets of Austin Town and other areas in Shantinagar, when most of these areas are celebrating Durga Puja putting up pandals, his safety itself is at stake if some mob notices and takes objection to it. It is for his own good that we told him and convinced him about this.

Q: Was there a need to make the Australian national write an apology letter? What wrong did he do to warrant seeking an apology from him?

A: We did not force him to write an apology letter. He voluntarily gave that letter. We asked him to apologise for the foul language which he used, in which we are justified. We and the police only educated him about the Hindu values and that sporting that tattoo on the leg would be taken as an insult to the religion.

Moreover, I agree that we as Hindus have not educated others enough. How would he know? He would have got a tattoo in India itself. When one of us, could put that tattoo on his leg, there is no point in objecting him. So we let him go, after asking him to wear a pair of trousers and not sport the tattoo.

(R V Ramesh Yadav, 40, has been associated with BJP since 1993. He has held many party posts in the city unit of the party. He contested as a candidate from Ward 111, in 2010 BBMP polls as a BJP candidate. Being a follower of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, he moved out of BJP to join KJP in 2013. He contested as a KJP candidate for Shantinagar assembly constituency in 2013, but lost. He rejoined BJP with B S Yeddyurappa. His younger sister R V Nagarathna, contested as BJP candidate from Shanthinagar ward in the recent August 2015 BBMP polls and lost).

Tattoo insults the Hindu goddess, says BJP leader

Derbyshire woman with Nigel Farage tattoo meets the UKIP leader

Ukip’s only MP will take centre stage at the party’s annual conference today after he stormed out of the gathering following a row with one of the party’s biggest donors.

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Mr Farage then turned his attentions to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who he earlier described in a Sky News interview as a “gift” for UKIP.

Mr Carswell is now a central part of a separate eurosceptic group, Business For Britain (BfB), which has refused to sign up to the overarching organisation.

Mr Banks, who gave Ukip £1million in the run up to the General Election told The Guardian: “Whoever Ukip decide to endorse, it will be hard for the Electoral commission to say no to that and Carswell will either have to leave or do the same …”

After it became clear that the MPs involved did not want to work with him, Banks approached Cummings and asked him to become the campaign director of Leave.EU, an offer Cummings declined.

The Ukip conference kicks off on the same day the British Chambers of Commerce announced the business vote on whether the United Kingdom remains a member of the EUis still “up for grabs”.

Despite an increase in vote share since the General Election campaign, the party had to cut conference ticket prices by 20 per cent after a “significantly lower” number of supporters showed interest in turning up.

In fact, For Britain is preparing for an out campaign after being unconvinced about David Cameron’s aims for renegotiation.

“UKIP can be proud of the 4 million votes cast for it this year”.

Addressing a party in the northern English town of Doncaster, he said: “If this referendum was about whether Britain was to join the European Union, we would look at the crisis at the Mediterranean that has been so appallingly mishandled, we would look at the way through failed policy we have encouraged families and young men to go into the hands of criminal traffickers leading to so much misery”.

But when asked if Mr Carswell would accept his apology, he retorted: “I’m still waiting for mine”.

“We would look at the eurozone… we would look at the whole thing and say no, we are not going to join”.

Civil war engulfed the party yesterday after Mr Carswell said he would stick to backing Tory-backed anti-EU group For Britain instead of Leave.EU, which is being bankrolled by millionaire Mr Banks.

Although Leave.European Union has captured the headlines with its new umbrella group this week, the other Leave camp may find themselves in a stronger place by building their campaign behind the scenes and launching later this year.

“It will be hard, everyone knows that it will not be easy but we will throw the kitchen sink at it – we have got to get out and make the case on the economics, sovereignty and controlling our borders”.

But Mr Farage has caused ripples with his sobering message that his priority is winning the vote and that UKIP’s own electoral fortunes must play second fiddle during that time.

He added: “This is the moment to put country before party”.

A party spokesman said there had been “some concern” over the low numbers.

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“We wish Nigel Farage and TheKnow/ Leave.European Union the best of luck in their endeavours”.

Derbyshire woman with Nigel Farage tattoo meets the UKIP leader