Katti’s North-Karnataka statehood demand a major stumbling block for BJP

Sachchidananda Gautam
Bengaluru

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Umesh Katti has put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, which has already been struggling to handle issues pertaining to land, language and culture, in a fix with his demand for a separate statehood for North Karnataka.

According to senior BJP leaders, Katti will likely become a stumbling block in BJP’s ambitious plan to garner 150 seats in the next Assembly polls. With less than 10 months for the elections, Katti’s demand has stirred a hornet’s nest and reignited a debate on regional divide, which pops up time and again purely for political reasons.

Katti has been representing Hukkeri constituency in Belagavi district for the eighth consecutive time (he lost only once in 2004). He has been raising the statehood issue for a long time allegedly to meet his ambition of becoming the chief minister. In 2014, Katti attributed scientific reasons for pushing the division.

“After former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided to create smaller states, we saw the creation of many new states, such as Jharkhand and Uttaranchal. Vajpayee was of the opinion that development would speed up with smaller states,” he had said.

He raised the demand in 2019 too. Now, Katti defends his demand pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to form 50 States in the country after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He alleges that successive governments have failed to protect the interests of people in Krishna region and North Karnataka gets a raw deal in irrigation and agriculture projects.

In 2019, he blamed both Centre and State governments for the underdevelopment of the North Karnataka region and vowed to fight for the people’s rights irrespective of the political parties running them. He even asserted that “people in North Karnataka will remain Kannadigas.”

Interestingly, Katti, recently stated that he wanted to be “the CM of united Karnataka”. While raising the statehood demand, Katti had announced that he would shun “Mysuru Peta” (traditional headgear offered to dignitaries by the Karnataka Government) and appealed people to wear traditional North Karnataka Headgear during official functions.

Katti’s demand has not gone down well with the state BJP unit, which is wary of the opposition move to make the ‘divisive’ issue the poll agenda.Century-old Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP), which fought for the unification of Karnataka, strongly condemned Katti. KSP President Mahesh Joshi said, “Parishat will not tolerate any such moves.”

He sought a clarification from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and urged him to control his cabinet colleague. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), a pro-Kannada organisation, believes Katti’s demand is part of a grand design by the BJP. KRV leader B. Sannerappa says “North Karnataka is believed to be a bastion of the powerful Lingayat community, which is the core vote bank of the saffron party. On the other hand, there is a demand for a separate Tulu Nadu, comprising of the coastal districts of Karnataka, another strong Hindutva base of BJP. The ‘meaningful silence’ of the government is really threatening. The division of Karnataka will benefit BJP politically, but it is detrimental to the land, language and culture of the land,” he said.

Katti’s demand has faced opposition from political leaders too cutting across party lines. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and the senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah lambasted Katti for his very idea of dividing the united Karnataka. “It is like betraying mother, motherland and mother tongue,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said that Katti has revealed that the discussions are being held at Prime Minister Narednra Modi’s level to divide Karnataka. He termed it as a dangerous development and sought a clarification from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

The issue has Bommai on a sticky wicket, though he categorically denied any proposal to divide Karnataka. The chief minister refused to comment on Katti’s remarks. Instead, he redirected the questions posed by the media to Katti, who according to him has the habit of making statements. The Karnataka unit of BJP is not happy with the way Katti is ‘behaving’. “One thing is certain. Recent developments will definitely make an impact on our poll prospect,” said a senior party leader.