By Shankar Raj*
Bengaluru: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is increasingly finding himself in a tight spot, leaving many in the ruling Congress party worried. The narrative sparked by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the CM is pro-Muslim may sound like throwing mud, but some of it seems to be sticking.
Siddaramaiah’s inability to get the Rameshwaram Café blast solved, despite a promise that the culprit would be nabbed in a day, has dented his image. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the probe is seen by many as a slap in the face of the Karnataka police and the Chief Minister.
There is growing fear that Karnataka is becoming a haven for ‘lone wolves’, like the one who carried out the Café blast, and the NIA raid on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, on radical outfits have left a big question mark on the ruling dispensation’s intelligence network.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is yet to make any breakthrough in the case. The BJP says that radical elements are getting bolder as Siddaramaiah is perceived to have a soft corner for Muslim outfits as part of appeasement politics. He had earlier announced Rs 1000 crore for the development of backward Muslim colonies and had made controversial statements on the freedom to wear hijab despite a case that has been pending before the Supreme Court.
Then came accusations that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had delayed the arrest of people who shouted pro-Pakistan slogans in the corridors of the Vidhana Soudha.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai (BJP) has pointed out that anti-national activities are increasingly happening during this government’s tenure. He also claimed that more than 15 sleeper cells were arrested during his tenure.
Karnataka leader of the opposition and senior BJP leader R Ashoka has alleged that the state government tried to change the Forensic Science Labs (FSL) reports regarding Pro-Pak slogans and Rameshwaram Cafe incidents. He also said that the Congress-led government is making false claims.
“The Congress government is only trying to hide facts in the Rameshwaram Cafe incident. The government did not reveal even a single piece of information about the culprits. They are trying to change the FSL report. This happened also in the incident where ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised in Vidhana Soudha.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will use all this as a tool to attack the Siddaramaiah government when he starts his campaign in Karnataka today.
He will formally kickstart the BJP’s Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka from Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s home turf — Kalaburagi.
Speculations are rife that the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the opposition INDIA bloc, may not contest the upcoming polls and, instead, the Congress is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman, who also manages educational institutions.
On March 18, Modi will be in Shivamogga, the home district of veteran BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, against whom an FIR was filed under 354 (A) Indian Penal Code at Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru 8on March 14, 2024, and a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on February 2, 2024, when the minor girl, accompanied by her mother, had gone to seek 81-year-old Yediyurappa’s help in another rape case.
Modi is scheduled to address a huge public meeting there as well. Yediyurappa’s son B Y Raghavendra is the sitting MP from Shivamogga and has been re-nominated by the party. Yediyurappa’s other son B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura Assembly constituency in the district, is the state BJP President.
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
