Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Martyrs’ Day, said that the unrest in Keragodu village in Mandya district was part of the larger communal agenda of BJP and Sangh Parivar.
On social media, the Chief Minister on Tuesday alleged the BJP and Sangh Parivar had put religious harmony at peril by publicly portraying “the ideology of Nathuram Godse.” “Today is the day the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi became a martyr. The message of Gandhi, who lived for truth, non-violence, peace, harmony and tolerance, are more relevant today than ever. But forces who believe in Hindutva politics have hatched a conspiracy to oust the Gandhian ideology from the country,” Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged.
“The action of hoisting saffron flag on a flag post meant for only the national flag on government land in Keregodu indicates communal agenda rather than their devotion towards Lord Hanuman,” he argued.
He said he strongly believed that people of Mandya district would defeat the conspiracy jointly hatched by the BJP, Sangh Parivar and now their alliance partner JD(S). Mandya was known for religious harmony besides being the land of several progressive movements including that of farmers, he said, adding that people of Mandya would never give space for anti-Constitutional forces and anti-Gandhian ideologies.
Opposition to national flag
Taking exception to the BJP’s demand for replacing the national flag with the saffron flag in Keregodu, he said people would know the reason behind such a demand if they understand that the RSS had always opposed the national flag. In fact RSS ideologue Golwalkar had maintained in his book ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ that it is not possible to accept the tricolur as national flag, he recalled. The national flag had not been hoisted on the RSS National headquarters in Nagpur for 52 years, he said.
The BJP and RSS, which have been opposing the national flag all along, are now using the religion as a shield to oppose the flag, he alleged.
He alleged that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar had created communal tension in Mandya district to reap political benefits ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The fact that the JD(S) too has publicly joined hands with such efforts shows their craving for power and “ideological and moral bankruptcy” of that party, he alleged. Pointing to JD(S) leaders publicly stating that they were abiding by the diktats of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Prime Minister Amit Shah, he said it is now proved that the real high command for the JD(S) were Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah. “The JD(S) leaders, who are basking in the glory of saffron shawl given to them by the BJP are unmindful of the disservice they are causing to Karnataka which is the abode of harmony and tolerance,” he argued.
Gandhi the great Hindu
Earlier, addressing a programme organised by the KPCC to mark Martyrs’ Day, the CM alleged that Godse, the man who killed Gandhi, was the deity of RSS and BJP. “Mahatma Gandhi was a great Hindu. The ones who shot the great Bhakt are now talking about Hindutva. Those who support Godse, the assassin of Gandhi, who wanted Ramarajya in the country, are claiming that they are the only Hindus,” he said.
