BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his party’s efforts to set a narrative around alleged disparity in the devolution of grants from the BJP-led Union Government suffered a major push-back as national security issues are taking centre-stage of political discourse in Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The condemnable developments in the last few days and their not-so-prudent handling by those in power in the state, has put the party on the backfoot. This is happening at a time when candidates for the LS polls are being announced and the battlelines are being drawn.
Senior Congress leaders were found wanting when they jumped the gun in the case of raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Vidhana Soudha corridors and the March 1 Rameshwaram Café blast case. Some ministers’ responses raised questions over attempts to downplay the seriousness of the issues which need to be dealt with firmly without looking at them from a political prism.
The government could have acted more swiftly and shown alacrity in getting to the bottom of the case in which Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain’s supporters allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans while they were with him celebrating his re-election to the Upper House of the Parliament on February 27. When the audio was unclear, it would have been prudent for the Congress leaders to wait for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) findings instead of jumping to a defensive conclusion that no such slogans were raised as that could influence the probe by the state police.
The jurisdictional police registered a suo motu case on the same day and started the probe, while the opposition BJP took to the streets as well as raised the issue during the just concluded budget session of the state legislature. Based on the FSL report that confirmed the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans, three persons were arrested.
Meanwhile, police in Mandya arrested a BJP worker who was accused of raising a pro-Pakistan slogan in 2022. It appears bizarre why the police waited for nearly two years to take action. Even if the previous BJP government was accused of protecting its worker, who claims to have uttered the slogan during a protest without knowing its meaning, Congress has been in power in the state since May 2023. It could have acted earlier. That leaves many questions related to the handling of such serious issues unanswered.
In the Rameshwaram café blast case, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara’s remarks on police also looking at the “business rivalry” angle came under fire from the Opposition BJP. A minister who termed it as a “silly trick” also faced the flak from the Opposition. Much of it could have been avoided.
Now, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the café blast, which appears to be an act of terror. It may not be prudent to get into the details of the case or come to any conclusion.
Politically, the developments pushed the Congress on the back-foot in AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge’s home state. Karnataka has given Congress hope and the party needs to do well in the state if it expects to improve its tally across the country.
Well aware of the challenges in the Lok Sabha polls, the government and the party had begun working on a clear strategy. It was focused on the implementation of the guarantee schemes that put money in the hands of people and was even commissioning a massive Rs 12 crore survey by appointing 1.2 lakh “Guarantee Volunteers” to know if the flagship schemes have reached people and their opinions about the scheme.
At the same time, it was also working on setting a strong narrative against the Union Government over the alleged disparity in devolution of taxes. Now, as expected, BJP will make national security one of the main poll planks alongside the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the last ten years.
BJP president JP Nadda, who was in Belagavi earlier this week set the tone for campaigning and gave enough indications about the line the party’s central leaders are likely to take during the campaigning in Karnataka. He accused Congress of supporting terrorism and questioned AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on their silence on the issue of Congress MP’s supporters raising pro-Pakistan slogans. Hussain is a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member.
Adding to the government’s woes is the acute water crisis across the state, including Bengaluru. The BJP-JDS leaders have repeatedly questioned the government over releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu when the state suffered due to water shortage. It is likely to be an issue in the Old Mysuru region.
The Congress may have its strategies to counter the Opposition, but change in the political discourse just when the electioneering is set to pick pace, is not good news for the party. However, Deputy CM and State Congress president DK Shivakumar got some relief earlier this week when the Supreme Court quashed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against him.
Ramu Patil
Senior Associate Editor
ramu@newindianexpress.com