Congress feels the heat over communal flare-up in DK, Udupi

The escalating communal violence in the coastal region, which has invariably taken taken a political colour, is bad news for the ruling Congress, which can’t afford any slip ups during the election year.

Despite prohibitory orders in the Dakshina Kannada district, there have been flare-ups, attacks and brutal murders the last three months, and the BJP is trying to extract as much mileage from the continued incidents. 

Though both parties have resorted to a blame game, the onus on maintaining law and order and protecting lives, lies on the Congress-led government. For, it doesn’t matter whether it is a member of a majority or a minority community - the government has clearly failed to contain the mounting death toll. 

The BJP on its part has kept score of the killings. Citing that more than 25 BJP/RSS/Hindu activists have been killed in the last three years by “jihadi elements” belonging to PFI and KFD, it has sought an NIA investigation into the murders.

Holding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah responsible for failing to maintain peace and harmony, and accusing Dakshina Kannada district in charge minister Ramanath Rai and U T Khader (who hails from Mangaluru) for provoking the violence, BJP leaders B S Yeddyurappa, Shobha Karandlaje and D V Sadananda Gowda have sought their resignations. Ever since the attack and subsequent death of RSS worker Sharath Madiwala on July 8, the trio have been using every platform available to escalate their demand.  

Siddaramaiah, Rai and Khader have in turn blamed the BJP for fomenting communal hatred in the region for electoral gain. 

Gowda even went to the extent of making an emotional appeal to Siddaramaiah on social media on July 9. Drawing a parallel to the loss being endured by himself and Siddaramaiah, he appealed to the chief minister to understand the pain of Madiwala’s father. “Put yourself in the shoes of Madiwala’s father. I feel anguished for his loss - don’t you feel anything?” he tweeted. While Gowda lost his son several years ago, Siddaramaiah’s older son Rakesh Siddaramaiah had died last year. 

In the absence of a home minister, all eyes are on Siddaramaiah, who now holds the portfolio. With the BJP squarely pinning the blame on the government, Siddaramaiah held an emergency meeting with the police top brass on Monday. Pulling them up for not doing their jobs properly, Siddaramaiah held the officers responsible for “hurting” the government.

Talking tough, Siddaramaiah has instructed the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi police to keep a strict vigil on “communal goondas”, and arrest anybody who violates the prohibitory order. “It does not matter if it is the Popular Front of India, the Sri Rama Sene, Bajrang Dal, RSS or the SDPI, we will take action,” he told the media. Stating that the government was doing everything to bring back normalcy in the region, Siddaramaiah said that the government would hold a peace meeting in the district. However it’s left to be seen whether the BJP will attend this meeting or not. 

The party hopes to turn the recent incidents to its advantage, especially given the fact that government has failed to address its allegations that perpetrators from Kerala are carrying out the bloodied attacks. It can be recalled that when the government hosted its maiden Tipu jayanti in 2015, violence had erupted in Madikeri, where a member each of both the majority and minority had been killed. 

After conducting an enquiry, the government has endorsed the BJP’s claims that members of minority organisations had entered the State and clashed with members of Hindu outfits, resulting in the violence. 

Congress can salvage the situation by not letting it go from bad to worse. Quick arrests and vigilance will help restore peace in the region. The BJP on its part should refrain from making provocative speeches, and instead build pressure on the government to ensure effective policing. But with ulterior motives and agendas, it is unlikely that the parties will stop politicising the issue.
 

• Dakshina Kannada
• Udupi
• communal violence
• BJP
• Congress
• Siddaramaiah