Samajotsava banners reflecting Sangh Parivar’s hatred for Congress

There has been a lot of talk about Hindu Samajotsavas being held across the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi with the Taluk and Zilla Panchayat elections round the corner. Many described it as an attempt by the Sangh Parivar to create a polarization factor in the region, thereby creating a Hindu vote bank for the BJP, which has been humiliated to the core by constant issues of its ministers allegedly involving in scams and scandals, including the land scam of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. Holding of Samajotsavas was criticized further when it paved way for violence in areas in and around Kundapur of Udupi district.

The BJP is under pressure to fare well in the polls, especially after it proclaimed that the best answer to the allegations against CM’s scam allegations and all other cases, would be a victory in the panchayat polls. Yeddyurappa has repeatedly said that he will go to the people with the achievements of his government in the last two years while the opposition Congress and JDS publicise his ill-doings and alleged scam involvement. A defeat in the polls, will not only mean humiliation for Yeddyurappa, but also re-ignite the issue of change in leadership by the BJP High Command, which would invariably mean Yeddyurappa’s axing. The Yeddyurappa led BJP government therefore knows the importance of a win in local body elections and could perhaps be playing the Hindu card to strengthen the chances of that happening by holding Samajotsavas.

In the opposition camp, JDS seems to have been more proactive in attacking the Yeddyurappa led state government with H D Kumaraswamy taking the initiative of exposing the many records and documents proving the CM’s alleged scam involvement. However, when it comes to taking on Sangh Parivar it is the Congress which has played a rather stronger role, especially at the national level.

The Congress has, of late, spoken out against the Sangh Parivar on a regular basis for a number of reasons. Statements from big names from the party such as P Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh raising the issue of ‘Saffron terror’, has only added to their fury. To add to that, Congressmen keep talking about the assassination of the Mahatma by Nathuram Godse to further give expression to their long standing non-compatibility with the Parivar. The saffron brigade on the other hand, has never loved Congress either.

This dislike for Congress is evident in the many Samajotsava banners that have been put across the city of Mangalore. The organizers prefer to call the location of the Samajotsava as ‘Kendra Maidana’ (Central Maidan) instead of the more popular Nehru Maidan, giving you an idea as to how much the Parivar wants to distance itself from the Congress and anything connected to it.