“Jai Bajrangbali” — thundered the Prime Minister in all his election rallies in Karnataka on Wednesday, expectedly cashing in on the Congress’s announcement in its manifesto that it will ban Right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal if it comes to power in the state.
In the last lap of the campaign, when its promise of Rs 2,000 for every woman in Karnataka is the one that seems to be resonating across the state, trust the Congress to inexplicably come up with the ‘Bajrang Dal’ googly in its manifesto, handing over another issue on the platter to the BJP. The ruling party’s leaders, led by the PM, have pounced on the opportunity and made it the theme of the last week campaign in the crucial state.
Organisations are banned on hard evidence that needs to stand up to legal scrutiny of tribunals. Recently, when the Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) under the UAPA, it cited how multiple states had recommended the ban and, through a notification, cited the cases of violence they were involved in. Subsequently, a tribunal upheld the ban. In short, banning an organisation is a legal process, not a political one.
In Karnataka, the issue of the Congress clubbing the Bajrang Dal with the PFI may further unite the already-aligned Muslim voter with the party but has the potential to offend some of the Hindu electorate which otherwise may have been aligned with the Congress on caste lines. It further gives an opportunity to the BJP in the all-crucial last week to unite the caste-driven voters on the issue of Hindutva and keep its poll fortress of coastal Karnataka intact.
The Congress, so far, in Karnataka had kept its campaign ‘local’ on the issue of ’40% corruption’ and its ‘five guarantees’. Its state leaders have been stressing enough on the same to avoid a confrontation with the Modi-led BJP on national issues. The party has feedback that its promise of Rs 2,000 per month to every woman and Rs 3,000 per month to every unemployed graduate is the one resonating the most in the state as every family stands to gain Rs 5,000 a month if it has a graduate in addition to a woman.
However, first the “Modi is like a poisonous snake” remark by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and now the ‘Bajrang Dal’ ban promise in the manifesto, take the spotlight away from what’s working for the Congress on the ground in the state. It has also given the BJP the platform to make the election around PM Modi and Hindutva.
Former Karnataka CM and erstwhile law minister Veerappa Moily says a state government can’t ban the Bajrang Dal and that there was no such proposal before the Congress, a statement that highlights the fissures inside the party on this issue.
Is this a case of the national leadership of the Congress prevailing over the view of its state leadership and will the party pay the price for this on May 10? We will know on May 13.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
Read all the Latest Opinions here
Comments
0 comment