New Delhi: The Congress is the only party in Karnataka fighting for the constitutional rights of Muslims, and it will continue to do so, former state chief minister Siddaramaiah has said.
“The Congress party is the only one committed to secularism. Muslims’ existence is important and they are citizens of this country,” Siddaramaiah, who was in Delhi to strategise with party leaders for next year’s Karnataka assembly polls, told ThePrint in an interview.
Siddaramaiah also emphasised that the party’s plank in the election would be centred around “Kannada pride”, highlighting alleged “Hindi imposition” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, and promising reservations in employment for Kannadigas. The party will also talk about inclusivity and safeguarding interests of Muslims.
Citing the example of the ban on wearing the hijab in educational institutions in the state, the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka pointed out that his party had fought against it “within and outside the Assembly”.
The Congress leader further asserted that the party would not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion.
While the Congress has often been accused of indulging in “soft Hindutva”, especially over former party president Rahul Gandhi’s visits to temples, Siddaramaiah asserted that there was nothing like “soft or hard Hindutva”, and said the party was committed to working for the welfare of all communities, irrespective of religion or caste.
“There is no soft or hard Hindutva. Hindutva is Hindutva. Is there any diluted secularism in the Constitution? Going to a temple is my belief and I go there. I am a Hindu. Just because you worship gods doesn’t mean you indulge in soft Hindutva. We follow the provisions of the Constitution and not soft or hard Hindutva. I go to temples but I don’t follow the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ideology,” he said.
The Congress is gearing up for the Karnataka Assembly polls scheduled for next year, in which it hopes to wrest the state from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While internal surveys of the party, according to sources, have indicated that the Congress is well placed for the election, reports of infighting have been making news.
Siddaramaiah, however, dismissed these reports. “The Congress is the only alternative to the BJP. The Congress is united and will fight these elections collectively,” he said.
The former Karnataka CM also emphasised that the Congress will not enter into an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) and will fight the assembly elections independently. The two parties had a coalition government in the state for 14 months after the 2018 assembly election, but this collapsed after the loss of a no-confidence vote in 2019, paving the way for the formation of a BJP government.
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‘Kannada pride’
Alleging that the BJP was trying to bring in Hindi in place of Kannada, Siddaramaiah said: “We will not allow that to happen. Hindi is not a national language. At the same time, Kannadigas are not getting jobs and, in some sectors including banking, only Hindi-speaking people are getting jobs. This needs to be stopped.”
“For us, Kannada pride is important, and if we come to power, Class III and Class IV jobs will be reserved only for Kannadigas,” he added.
Karnataka has witnessed protests and strikes by pro-Kannada organisations demanding priority for Kannadigas in employment in the private sector, especially in IT and biotechnology.
As part of its poll agenda, the Congress is also planning to push for implementation of the 1986 Sarojini Mahishi report, which recommended reservations in jobs for Kannadigas in both private and government sectors.
“The report has not been implemented completely and once our party comes to power, we will ensure proper implementation of the report and ensure jobs to Kannadigas on a priority basis,” Siddaramaiah said.
‘No soft or hard Hindutva’
According to party sources, the Congress has rethought its strategy regarding Muslims after getting local inputs that the ruling BJP’s “polarisation and communal pitch” was no longer working in Karnataka the way it has worked in other states.
“The Congress in Karnataka is clear that it will take everyone along, from any caste or community. The Congress is the only party in the state fighting for the Muslims. For their constitutional rights and for safeguarding their rights,” Siddaramaiah said.
Rectifying the mistakes of the previous assembly election was a key topic of discussion at the meetings that Siddaramaiah had with Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders in the past few days
“We discussed how to bring the party back to power in Karnataka, our strategies, the political situation, the reasons we lost the 2018 election, and how we can make amends,” the former CM said, adding that “the current political situation is in favour of the Congress”.
Siddaramaiah, when asked to specify the mistakes the Congress had made last time, said, “We failed to market ourselves the last time, which led to our defeat. This time, we are going ahead with alternative plans, and there will be major promises in our manifesto”.
Also on the Congress agenda is highlighting the achievements of the previous Manmohan Singh administration at the Centre and the Congress government in Karnataka, and the alleged failures of the Narendra Modi administration and BJP governments in the state.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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