Will Tipu Sultan bail out the BJP?

Linguist and cultural activist Ganesh Devy says he is aghast at the brazen hate speech, communal innuendos and incitement. They can go unpunished only in fascist states because of the inaction of bodies meant to take cognisance of such acts and speech.  What has Karnataka to do with Savarkar, he wonders. “It intrigues me and defeats my understanding. Depicting Indian Muslims as traitors betrays ignorance of  the history of Independence,” he says, pointing out that Tipu Sultan, who fought against the East India Company and the British does belong to Karnataka, unlike Savarkar. 

“The BJP government in the state has little to show as its achievements and will have to rely upon Modi’s charisma and polarisation of votes,” states A Narayana, Professor at the School of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University.

Are voters influenced by hate? BJP will play both caste and communal cards, says a political commentator, because it has nothing to lose and very little to show. The party, he quips, revels in ‘speech-mongering’ and points to incendiary speeches by BJP leaders in Delhi during the anti-CAA protests and Delhi election. 

Kannadigas temperamentally are not swayed by hate, points out Devy. “These BJP MLAs were not elected to make hate speeches. Industries are moving out of Karnataka to Hyderabad, standards of education are falling, corruption is increasing but the government is utilising all its energy in hate speeches, ” he adds.

Some political commentators blame the Congress for its failure to counter the hate speech more aggressively. “Statements by one or two Congress leaders slamming them will not cut any ice with the voters.  The opposition to hate speech should be stronger and sustained. It should ideally come from the civil society, which the Congress should seriously think of engaging,” he suggests.
   
BJP has the advantage of clarity. It is clear that Muslims, who constitute roughly 13 per cent of the voters, will not vote for…