Backlash of Hindu youth in Hindutva heartland worries BJP

Shyam Sundar Vattam|NT
Bengaluru

The rebellion among Hindu youth against the BJP over the brutal murder of Praveen Nettar in Dakshina Kannada district has become a cause of concern for the saffron party. Mobs gheraoed State BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel, Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar, RSS veteran Kalladka Prabhakar and other leaders to show their anger against the state government for its failure to check such violent incidents in different parts of the State targeting pro-Hindutva activists.

This came as a big shock for the BJP which has used the youth of Coastal Karnataka for political gain in the last many years. The coastal belt of Karnataka had been a stronghold of the BJP where Hindutva was nurtured by the saffron party and so the rebellion by youth against their own leaders for not taking any steps to check killings in the name of religion, has left party leadrers worried.

Youth leaders complain that the BJP came to power promising to protect Hindus but it has failed to do in the last three years. They sought to know what the government has done after the brutal murder of Harsha, a Bajrang Dal activist in Shivamogga by a group of miscreants a few months ago. At that time, Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai had said that the government would deal with miscreants with an iron hand and would prevent such incidents in future. Within three months, another incident has taken place in Dakshina Kannada which has really angered Hindu outfits.

The deceased, Praveen was said to be a member of the BJP Yuva Morcha and his death has made activists of BJP Yuva Morcha, Bajrang Dal, Sri Rama Sene and Vishwa Hindu Parishat speak out against their own government. This anti-government feeling among the youth has come as a big shock for the leaders who suspect that the party may lose in the Hindutva heartland in the coming election.

The so-called Hindu leaders like Kateel and Kalladka had to face the wrath of angry Hindu youth who shouted slogans against their own leaders. Some of them dared to question Kateel on what he had done to stop the killing of Hindu activists especially in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The car window panes of several BJP leaders were broken and the police had to wield lathis to disperse the mob which surrounded them.

The decision to cancel the Janotsava celebrations is not surprising as the BJP would have faced flak from its own leaders and workers if it had gone ahead with the celebrations. Honnalli BJP MLA and the CM’s political advisor, M.P.Renukacharya has even threatened to resign in case the government failed to stop further killing of Hindu youth in the State. The Bommai government is under heavy pressure to act swiftly against the perpetrators of crime before the patience of Hindu activists runs out.