What is the way ahead for BJP in Karnataka

As 2022 becomes part of history, any observer of public life in Karnataka will be baffled by the upsurge in casteism. Some might argue that it is a lesser evil than communalism or no evil at all. Both are against the secular rubric of our Constitution.

Political outfits holding aloft the banner of their so-called secularism are indulging in extreme forms of casteism in the same way socialism has become a mere shibboleth for our parties swearing by it.

If BJP is accused of playing anti-Muslim communalism elsewhere in the country, in Karnataka, it is another political party indulging in caste-based politics. The move to adopt an anti-conversion law, unveiling a portrait of Veer Savarkar in the Belagavi Assembly chamber, running down Tipu Sultan or going soft on the demand to restore the status of the mosque in Srirangapatna as a Hanuman temple appears to be symbolic assertions of the Hindutva stand of the party. 

Queering the pitch on casteism is Congress leader Siddaramaiah who has lately become a “professor “of ancient India and talking of Aryans and Dravidians. He has made a common cause with DMK, which has for decades been indulging in divisive politics and talking of racial divide. Siddaramaiah has not learnt any lesson from his attempt to drive a wedge between Veerashaivas and Lingayats ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections. 

No doubt one can give credence to such a division and it cannot be wished away… The baggage of caste-based political divisions will surely inform the 2023 Assembly elections.

For instance, the Basavaraj Bommai ministry has already constituted a committee of ministers to decide on providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes. That there should be internal reservation among SCs and the creamy layer should be excluded from the reservation regime is old hat. Decades ago, the Government of India-constituted committee headed by Justice Bheem Rao Lokur, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, and Union law secretary had made such a recommendation.

It was long before the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh took such a decision. The Bommai government is now acting on the recommendations of Justice AJ Sadashiva. In support of the action of the government is the fact that a section of the thinking public has felt that well-to-do SCs should be denied perpetual reservation. 

With Assembly elections only six months away, the government is in a quandary over the demand of Panchamashalis to be included in the 2A category as it has been assigned a 15 per cent reservation. Currently, they are in Category 3 which has a 5 per cent quota. Instead of taking an ad hoc decision, the government should refer the matter to the state’s permanent backward classes commission.

BJP cannot shrug off its dependence on the Lingayat vote. Even those speculating on the chief minister being replaced are suggesting the names of Lingayat leaders as his successor. 

The issue of corruption and BBMP contractors’ allegation of a 40 per cent commission has already dented the party’s image. BJP, like Congress and JDS, has failed to check corruption. What is distressing is the allegation of corruption in the appointment of vice-chancellors of universities. The silver lining is the Karnataka High Court judgement striking down the constitution of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the concomitant devaluation of the Lok Ayukta by the Siddaramaiah government. 

If BJP ministers have ducked allegations of corruption, it is because many opposition leaders and legislators themselves reek of it. As one who has observed the political scene in the state over the last 50 years, I am amused at the way some of our past leaders are being placed on pedestals. The government itself has provided grist to the opposition mill by its colossal wrongdoing as in the case of the recruitment of police sub-inspectors, the appointment of shady politicians as heads of boards, corporations and urban bodies and giving key positions to corrupt officials etc.

Bommai has shown that he is a well-meaning leader who has been circumscribed by the venal political culture established by so-called national and local parties and political movements. Mere dependence on the charisma of the Prime Minister and changing the leadership without providing a clean administration will take BJP nowhere in the next Assembly elections.

It should weigh its triumph in Gujarat against the defeat in Himachal Pradesh, a state with a 95 per cent Hindu population.

As 2022 becomes part of history, any observer of public life in Karnataka will be baffled by the upsurge in casteism. Some might argue that it is a lesser evil than communalism or no evil at all. Both are against the secular rubric of our Constitution. Political outfits holding aloft the banner of their so-called secularism are indulging in extreme forms of casteism in the same way socialism has become a mere shibboleth for our parties swearing by it. If BJP is accused of playing anti-Muslim communalism elsewhere in the country, in Karnataka, it is another political party indulging in caste-based politics. The move to adopt an anti-conversion law, unveiling a portrait of Veer Savarkar in the Belagavi Assembly chamber, running down Tipu Sultan or going soft on the demand to restore the status of the mosque in Srirangapatna as a Hanuman temple appears to be symbolic assertions of the Hindutva stand of the party.  Queering the pitch on casteism is Congress leader Siddaramaiah who has lately become a “professor “of ancient India and talking of Aryans and Dravidians. He has made a common cause with DMK, which has for decades been indulging in divisive politics and talking of racial divide. Siddaramaiah has not learnt any lesson from his attempt to drive a wedge between Veerashaivas and Lingayats ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections.  No doubt one can give credence to such a division and it cannot be wished away… The baggage of caste-based political divisions will surely inform the 2023 Assembly elections. For instance, the Basavaraj Bommai ministry has already constituted a committee of ministers to decide on providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes. That there should be internal reservation among SCs and the creamy layer should be excluded from the reservation regime is old hat. Decades ago, the Government of India-constituted committee headed by Justice Bheem Rao Lokur, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, and Union law secretary had made such a recommendation. It was long before the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh took such a decision. The Bommai government is now acting on the recommendations of Justice AJ Sadashiva. In support of the action of the government is the fact that a section of the thinking public has felt that well-to-do SCs should be denied perpetual reservation.  With Assembly elections only six months away, the government is in a quandary over the demand of Panchamashalis to be included in the 2A category as it has been assigned a 15 per cent reservation. Currently, they are in Category 3 which has a 5 per cent quota. Instead of taking an ad hoc decision, the government should refer the matter to the state’s permanent backward classes commission. BJP cannot shrug off its dependence on the Lingayat vote. Even those speculating on the chief minister being replaced are suggesting the names of Lingayat leaders as his successor.  The issue of corruption and BBMP contractors’ allegation of a 40 per cent commission has already dented the party’s image. BJP, like Congress and JDS, has failed to check corruption. What is distressing is the allegation of corruption in the appointment of vice-chancellors of universities. The silver lining is the Karnataka High Court judgement striking down the constitution of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the concomitant devaluation of the Lok Ayukta by the Siddaramaiah government.  If BJP ministers have ducked allegations of corruption, it is because many opposition leaders and legislators themselves reek of it. As one who has observed the political scene in the state over the last 50 years, I am amused at the way some of our past leaders are being placed on pedestals. The government itself has provided grist to the opposition mill by its colossal wrongdoing as in the case of the recruitment of police sub-inspectors, the appointment of shady politicians as heads of boards, corporations and urban bodies and giving key positions to corrupt officials etc. Bommai has shown that he is a well-meaning leader who has been circumscribed by the venal political culture established by so-called national and local parties and political movements. Mere dependence on the charisma of the Prime Minister and changing the leadership without providing a clean administration will take BJP nowhere in the next Assembly elections. It should weigh its triumph in Gujarat against the defeat in Himachal Pradesh, a state with a 95 per cent Hindu population.