Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshmana has accused the BJP of ‘sponsoring’ the hijab row in Karnataka to not only make political capital out of the division of the society on communal lines, but also to divert public attention from the real issues facing the public.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Lakshmana said the BJP had stooped to such a low level that it was sowing the seeds of communalism in the minds of young students. “Such is the level of your thirst for power”, he said while pointing out that hijab or head scarf was not unique to Muslim women as even Hindu women in different parts of Karnataka and North India had a tendency to cover their head with the loose end of their sarees.
Claiming that the BJP had realised that it will not win more than 40 seats in the next Assembly elections in the State due to the all-round failure of its government, Mr. Lakshmana said the party had resorted to “divide and rule” policy. He called upon the people to vote for whomever they wanted to, but not to fall prey to the ‘conspiracy’ hatched by the saffron party.
With the State Legislature session scheduled to begin in a week’s time, the ruling BJP has conveniently brought the hijab row to the centre-stage in an effort to divert public attention from issues such as the Centre ignoring Karnataka in the recent Union Budget and the Mekedatu project while a large number of youth had been hit by the widespread unemployment.
He also pointed out that the hijab controversy was stoked by BJP’s frontal organisations like RSS at a time when the party suffered a setback after the tableau of social reformer Narayan Guru was not included in the recent Republic Day parade.
He alleged that one lakh saffron shawls and 15,000 saffron turbans had been transported to coastal Karnataka from a garment factory in Peenya Industrial Estate in Bengaluru recently and urged the government to inquire into the same.
Mr. Lakshmana said Basavaraj Bommai was a “total failure” as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. While asking Mr. Bommai if he had taken at least one firm decision during his six months at the helm, the Congress spokesperson said things would not have come to such a pass in the State had B.S. Yediyurappa been the Chief Minister.
He criticised Home Minister Araga Jnanendra of failure to control the law-and-order situation in the State while finding fault with the State Government for declaring three days of holidays for schools and colleges instead of taking action against the persons responsible for eruption of violence. “What will you do if trouble erupts again when schools and colleges reopen after three days?
Instead of finding the culprits, who had instigated the students to resort to violence, the government has declared a holiday for the schools and colleges, thereby destroying the education of the students, which has already been hit by COVID-19. “Students are innocent. Action should be taken against the forces that provoked them”, he said.
Mr. Lakshmana criticised the State Police for not taking any action in the regard. “Since it a sponsored programme of the BJP, the police officers too had not visited the spots of trouble”, he alleged.
