Jarkiholi withdraws statement but BJP wants to make best of it

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: KPCC Working President Satish Jarkiholi may have withdrawn his controversial statement on Hinduism but the BJP is undeterred and is determined to make use of the controversy to target the opposition Congress Party which is confident of sweeping back to power 2023.

The Congress has already disowned the statement with AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Affairs Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeting that “Hinduism is a way of life & a civilisational reality. Congress built our nation to respect every religion, belief & faith.

The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate & deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally.’’ The statement has come as a big gift for the ruling BJP which was waiting for a issue to target the Congress Party.

The series of anti-BJP campaigns launched by the Congress such as 40 per cent commission, corruption charges against several ministers, crumbling infrastructure in Bengaluru City, failure to manage rain and floods in districts due to unprecedented rains and deterioration in the law & order situation in the State have had their impact.

The Congress is also in a buoyant mood after the successful Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state last month led by former AICC President Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. . Even the support base of the BJP in the coastal region had dwindled after the brutal murder of Praveen Nettaru and Harsha.

So close on the heels of this incident, Minister V.Sunil Kumar has launched a campaign ‘Swabhiman Hindu’ and plans to take this across the length and breadth of the state to whip up the sentiments of the majority Hindu community.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former CM B.S.Yediyurappa and other BJP leaders have taken up this issue to crack the whip on the Congress Party and are trying to project it as anti-Hindu.