Bengaluru, April 8: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party legislator MP Renukacharya on Tuesday sparked a controversy by stating that it is 'not wrong' to shoot those Tablighi Jamaat event attendees who are'purposely evading' COVID-19 test. He also accused them indirectly indulging in an act of terrorism.

MP Renukacharya said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "Anyone who attended Tablighi meet, isn't coming out for medical checkups&is escaping detection, government shouldn't ignore them. Even if he's shot, it’s not wrong. Otherwise, the virus will spread in entire country. In China it started with 1 person." Ashok Gehlot Demands Inquiry into Tablighi Jamaat Event by Supreme Court Judge As Coronavirus Cases Surge in India.

Here's the ANI tweet:

Renukacharya, who is also a political secretary to Chief Minister Yediyurappa, however added that it was wrong to blame the whole community for the misdeeds of few. It is to be known that Tablighi Jamaat congregation held at Nizamuddin in Delhi last month and turned out to be the hotbed of COVID-19 spread in the country.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa during an interview to a news channel on Monday had warned of action against those blaming the entire Muslim community for isolated incidents. The government said from around 920 people samples that have been collected so far, 623 are negative, 27 positive, remaining results are still awaited.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2020 11:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).