The BJP distanced itself from comments made by its Karnataka MP Anantkumar Hegde calling for mosques allegedly built on temples to be demolished, ahead of the Ram temple consecration on January 22 in Ayodhya. However, the incident wasn’t the Uttara Kannada MP’s first brush with controversy.

Speaking at a meeting in Kumta on Saturday, Hegde claimed there were several mosques built over Hindu temples in Karnataka. “Until they are demolished, the Hindu community will not sit idly,” he said, adding, “Revenge, revenge, revenge… if we do not take revenge for the 1,000 years, then the Hindu community can clearly say that ours is not Hindu blood. We are not a community which will be in debt. We will clear the debt at any cost.”

On Sunday, police registered a suo motu complaint against Hegde under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (statements conducing public mischief) over his remarks.

A staunch Hindu nationalist, the six-time MP was on the ascent in state politics until recently, before he went off the radar after the Covid-19 pandemic. With a large following among Hindu right-wing groups in the state, the 55-year old was also expected to play a key role in state politics but has been keeping a low profile lately.

Before being elected an MP for the first time in 1996, he was a volunteer in the RSS and its student wing the ABVP. Over the years, especially after the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in the state, Hegde has often courted controversy.

Known for his provocative speeches, Hegde was forced to apologise in the Lok Sabha in December 2017 after he said at a Karnataka event that while the BJP respects the word “secular”, the party has come to power to “change the Constitution”.

“Some people say the Constitution says secular and you must accept it. We will respect the Constitution, but the Constitution has been changed several times and it will change in the future too. We are here to change the Constitution and we’ll change it soon,” he had said.

Yielding to the demand from the Opposition, Hegde, in his apology, said that he could not “think of violating the Constitution”. Though that particular controversy died down following his apology, Hegde wasn’t deterred.

Months before he was appointed Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2017, he was caught on camera assaulting two doctors and a staff of a private hospital, angry that they did not attend to his mother on priority. The MP was also accused of threatening the doctors against filing a complaint, an issue that eventually ended in a compromise.

He is also known for peddling conspiracy theories, including in 2019 about the Taj Mahal, claiming that it was not built by Mughals and was a Hindu temple. “It’s a Shiv Mandir that was built by King Paramatheertha, which was known as Tejo Mahalaya. Tejo Mahalaya became Taj Mahal. If we keep sleeping like this, most of our houses will also be renamed masjid,” he had said.

Hegde was also accused of provoking violence during a speech made by him at Kodagu in 2019. “If a Hindu girl is touched by a hand, then that hand should not exist,” the MP had said, drawing ire from Congress and other progressive groups.

In 2019, he had also attacked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asking how he could be a Hindu as he was “born to a Muslim father and Christian mother”. Reacting sharply to the remarks, Rahul Gandhi had said Hegde is an “embarrassment to every Indian” and “deserved to be sacked”.

His most controversial comment made even the BJP high command take notice and seek an explanation from the legislator. In 2020, he had targeted Mahatma Gandhi, contending that the Independence movement led by Gandhi was a “drama”.

Addressing a public event in Bengaluru, Hegde had said, “Some people keep saying we got independence because someone sat on satyagraha. The British gave independence out of sheer frustration. On reading history books, my blood boils. Such people are termed ‘Mahatma’ in our country.”

“None of these ‘leaders’ were beaten up by the cops even once. The freedom movement by itself was one big drama. It was staged with the approval of the British,” he added.

In response to a BJP show cause notice on the remarks, he reportedly told party leadership that he did not mention Gandhi or the Quit India Movement in his speech, and that the controversial remarks attributed to him were “incorrect”.

Though he no longer holds the Union Minister of State post, Hegde remains a BJP member and MP. He has won from the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat in consecutive polls since 2004. In 2019, he defeated the JD(S) candidate by winning 68.1% of the vote share. In 2014, he won against the Congress candidate with 54.6% of the vote share.