The BJP on Thursday played the Hindutva card in poll-bound Karnataka, accusing the Congress of being "friends" with people who slaughtered a cow in public.

Talking to reporters here, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Shobha Karandlaje, claimed that former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar took up the Bharat Jodo Yatra with persons who killed a cow on road.

"In the Mangaluru cooker blast case probe, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had claimed that the accused is like their brother. On whose side they are? The leadership of Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah protect the accused who indulge in activities against the country," she alleged.

Karandlaje said: "ISIS claimed responsibility for the blast and put up a post on the internet. But the Congress is protecting the accused."

With Karandlaje raking up such issues, high-voltage campaigns by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other firebrand leaders in the state are likely in the coming days.

The anti-cattle slaughter law enacted in Karnataka in 2021 bans transport, sale, trade and slaughter of cattle. [IANS/NS]