BANGALORE: The BJP has won because of an “odd combination” of rightist ideology, fear-mongering and clever publicity, Jnanpith awardee U R Ananthamurthy has said.“I feel sad about it, but the people have decided,” he told Express after it became clear that the BJP-led NDA had taken a sweeping lead.
“What has won is the prachaara, the electronic, modern techniques used for his campaign, coupled with the khaki shorts and the baton. Combine this with Modi... I can’t imagine how this will help the nation. I don’t want India to become a nation like Israel.” The khaki shorts and the baton are a metaphor for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP.
The 81-year old writer, who had declared that he would leave the country if Modi became prime minister, had later retracted from his “emotional outburst.”
Last month, along with fellow Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad and other Kannada litterateurs, Ananthamurthy had taken a public stand to support the Congress.
BJP leader and former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda is now the MP representing Bangalore North, where Ananthamurthy voted. “We live in a democratic nation and accept whoever is elected. We cherish certain values. The minimum is they should not be corrupt and not help people of their own caste,” he said when asked what he expects from Sadananda Gowda. “He (Sadananda Gowda) is a gentleman. But the BJP is not truly a democratic party. We have elected a man (Modi) who is not democratic,” he said. In his view, the charge that surrounds Modi’s victory is bound to lead to problems. “An internal problem comes up like a fever. You know, too much energy results in a fever. And Modi is this fever,” he said.
Ravi Slams Modi Critics
BJP state general secretary C T Ravi took an indirect dig at H D Deve Gowda and writer U R Ananthamurthy, who had said that they would leave the state and country respectively if Narendra Modi became the PM.
Ravi said, “I appeal to those who had vowed to leave the state or country and even to those who had vowed to quit politics and commit suicide if Modi becomes the PM, to abandon their plans. I appeal to them to introspect on their views and respect the verdict of the masses.”