By MuslimMirror Correspondent,
Bangalore: “Only you will decide whether you want the land of Bajrang Bali (Hindu monkey God who possesses supernatural powers) or a land of worshippers of Tipu Sultan (a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore),” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told the crowd gathered at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parivarthan Yatre rally on Thursday at Nehru Grounds at Hubballi in Karnataka.
Hate mongering and communal polarisation are in full swing in Karnataka, which is going to polls around May next year.
“When Lord Hanuman is being worshiped across the country, the Congress government in Karnataka, the state known for Vijayanagar Empire, is promoting worship of Tipu Sultan. The Congress is insulting our rich tradition,” he said apprantly attempting to divide the society on religious lines.
This is not the first time when such a language filled with communal overtone is being used in the south Indian state ahead of the elections. Recently, a legislator of the saffron party from Telangana called for violence, bragged about ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and said “Hindus must pick up swords”.
He went ahead and called Tipu a “harami” (an abuse), accusing the emperor of converting Hindus into Muslims.
“Whosoever comes in path of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ (a nation for Hindus), his existance will be wiped out. We will not spare them,” T Raja Singh Lodh, who represents Goshamal constituency in Hyderabad, told a cheering crowd at Virat Hindu Samavesh convention in Karnataka’s Yadgir district on December 14 evening.
“I promise you that integral ‘Hindu Rashtra’ will come into existance, but we will have to fight for it. Brothers, prepare yourself because we need to learn to wield swords,” he said and asked, “Why do we need to learn it?”
He replied to his own question. “To protect our country, our religion. To turn the dream of the Hindu rashtra into a reality,” he said.
He then called for violence and asked people to keep weapons in their houses. “Every Hindu must keep arms in their houses. If you don’t have weapons, neither can you save yourself nor your family,” he added.
If its recent strategies are something to go by, the BJP is looking ahead of the complex caste combinations in the state to reach out to all fragmented Hindu voters and aolate the Congress. The party, which came to power at the Centre on the slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (collective efforts, inclusive growth), seems to have shifted to the narrative that “if Congress can use casteism or social engineering, why should we not use religion”.
The BJP in Sptember this year demanded ban on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India along with some other outfits in the wake of recent attacks on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. The party, say analysts, intentionally mentioned the name of Muslim outfits so that anyone alligning with them can be declared anti-Hindu.
The political observers also argue that the saffron party is desperate in the state because it is not getting support from its ideological mentor RSS. They even claim that the Sangh parivar is “deliberately not extending support to the BJP because it wants the Congress a better chance. The reason being the grandold party, despite being the ruling party, has done better than Opposition in evoking the issues like state flg, pro-Kannada and backing of anti-Hindi imposition”.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who grabbed power by successfully consolidating the AHINDA (acronym for minorities, Dalits and backward classes) support base in 2013, continues to hold the controversial castes combination that is likely to challenge the Lingayat-Vokkaliga dominant communities narrative.
Therorefore, the BJP does not want to leave any stone unturned and banking on its Hindutva strategy, which is likely to make next years polls one of the most polarised elections in the state’s history.
In the 225-member (224+1 nominated) Assembly in Karnata, the Congress has 123 MLAs in addition to the Speaker, the BJP has 44, the Janata Dal (Secular) has 31 plus 8 rebels, 16 independents and two seats are lying vacant. The majority mark stands at 113.