Communal politics hit a new low in Karnataka with the death of a cattle trader allegedly lynched by a fringe mob. It is a spine-chilling reminder of similar incidents in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, unheard of in the South. Two anomalies marked this crime—that it happened in Karnataka, known for peace and harmony, and was executed in Sathanur, the stronghold of Congress leader D K Shivakumar.
The body of Idrees Pasha, the assistant driver of the cattle van, was found close to Sathanur police station. The cattle traders were moving from Mandya to Tamil Nadu via Kanakapura, a belt not known for the extreme communalism that marks coastal Karnataka. Main accused, Puneeth Kerehalli, who heads a right-wing group Rashtra Rakshana Pade, is booked for murder.
The lynching gave the Opposition a solid issue to flay the ruling party, which was met with silence from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his ministers. The lack of unqualified condemnation encourages criminals like Kerehalli, a self-styled cow vigilante who used to campaign to boycott Muslim businesses, big and small.
That he had demanded Rs 2 lakh from the cattle traders and even shot a Facebook Live video while on the run indicates his brazen confidence that he can get away with the crime. The Congress is now going to town with photographs of Kerehalli posing with BJP leaders, but that would not help save Karnataka.
There is anticipation that as the state heads into elections, communal flareups, moral policing and hate speeches to polarise voters could be reported. And such a heinous crime hints at the desperation of the fringe elements.
Opinion polls have indicated that the BJP has a tough fight ahead this summer, and whether such vigilantism will impact the voting trend will be apparent only next month. The party’s three-year reign was marked by a string of communal incidents and allegations of corruption, and there is barely any noteworthy development it can seek its votes for.
In such a fraught situation, the BJP government should uphold the law and not spare the culprits lest the incident is exploited to polarise the voters in the coming elections. Such communalism must be met with pushback by right-minded citizens, though it is also known that extremism only begets more extremism. Besides giving Karnataka a bad name, these incidents destroy the social fabric in the long run.