Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah got into a Twitter spat with current CM Basavaraj Bommai demanding his resignation. Siddaramaiah alleged that there has been an increase in right-wing vigilantes in the state and expressed displeasure over Bommai’s justification for the same.
“Mr. @BSBommai, You have accepted your incapability to maintain law & order by justifying moral policing by few anti-social elements. Please resign & save Karnataka!!” said Siddaramaiah in his first Tweet against Bommai reacting to a statement given by the latter in media.
Mr. @BSBommai,
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 13, 2021
You have accepted your incapability to maintain law & order by justifying moral policing by few anti-social elements.
Please resign & save Karnataka!!#MoralPolicing
However, that is not where the attack stopped. Siddaramaiah in a bid to attack the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader in his following Tweets also took a jibe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) saying, “Appeasing RSS may be necessary to save your position, but you should not stoop to this low, Mr @BSBommai.”
Mr @BSBommai,
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 13, 2021
Whenever women are subjected to moral policing henceforth, Can the people of Karnataka assume that you are the true reason for the crime?
It is more criminal to encourage & incite violence, and protect the perpetrators.#MoralPolicing
“Do you have any plans to dissolve the police department, and hand over the law & order to RSS?” he Tweeted further.
Mr @BSBommai,
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 13, 2021
Do you have any plans to dissolve the police department, and handover the law & order to RSS?
Or are you planning to establish Jungle Raj?#MoralPolicing
Bommai hits back at Siddaramaiah
Replying to the Congress leader, Bommai said, “RSS is a tallest Nation-building Org, which treats every citizen equally unlike ur selective appeasement for votes, during calamities RSS works leading from the front, My Govt & my party works as per the constitution of India & not as per the extra-constitutional bodies like NAC (National Advisory Council).”
RSS is a tallest Nation building Org,which treats every citizen equally unlike ur selective appeasement for votes,during calamities RSS works leading from the front, My Govt & my party works as per the constitution of India & not as per the extra constitutional bodies like NAC.
— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) October 13, 2021
Replying to Siddaramaiah’s ‘jungle raj’ comment, CM Bommai stated, “Jungle Raj was when you were blind, deaf and dumb to the killings of Hindus under your tenure, in my administration, it’s the law which takes the action while in yours it was jungle raj hence Hindus were killed on supari and many riots took place.”
Further accusing Siddramaiah and Congress of promoting lawlessness, CM Bommai stated, “While you were the CM You became the icon of anti-Hindus by getting killed Hindu activists as Tippu Sultan did in his regime, I need not learn administration or policing from you, we have an able police force to tackle the law and order which was sitting Ducks under ur government.”
Left liberal ecosystem claims ‘Bommai justified moral policing’
Bommai while speaking at an event in Mangaluru when asked about the recent cases of moral policing in the state said, “This is a sensitive issue. We all have responsibilities in a society.”
“There are multiple sentiments in a society and people will need to function in a manner that does not hurt sentiments. When sentiments are hurt, there will normally be action and reaction,” the Karnataka CM said further.
Talking about social responsibility, Bommai said, “The responsibility of the government, apart from maintaining law and order, is to preserve social harmony. Everyone must cooperate. Some youths need to ensure that the sentiments of their society are not hurt. This is a social issue and we need morality in society. We cannot live without morality.”
“Today, we cannot live without morality. Peace in society and relationships are dependent on morality. When there is no morality there will be action and reaction. There is a responsibility on everyone and not just one section of society,” added Bommai.
However, the left-liberal and Congress ecosystem claimed that Bommai was justifying moral policing and initiated a cohesive attack against him.
Recent cases of so-called moral policing
Reportedly, police in Bagalkote district on Tuesday arrested eight people after a brawl between two Class IXth students got communal. Members of both Hindu and Muslim groups who belong to the same locality attacked each other.
There were allegations that one of the students objected to the other wearing a skull cap, however, the police has not confirmed the reason for what started the fight as yet.
The Hindustan Times in its report claimed that two other cases of alleged moral policing were reported on Monday from Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga respectively. In the first case from Dakshina Kannada, two people of a right-wing outfit objected to two Hindu girls traveling with a Muslim couple.
Whereas, in the other case two youngsters were detained for allegedly assaulting a Hindu youth for dropping off a Muslim girl on his two-wheeler.
Human rights activists and organisations call Bommai’s statement ‘dangerous’
As many as 35 human rights activists and organisations released a statement on Wednesday calling Bommai’s remark “dangerous.”
“This statement has been made at a time when instances of communal policing have increased in Karnataka, which has in fact witnessed the killing of persons for the simple act of loving across caste and religion,” read the statement.
It is imperative to note that the case had nothing to do with any right-wing party or organization.
“Your statement that social morality is (to) be protected is not an innocent message. It sends out a dangerous message that as far as you are concerned, it is ok to use violence to enforce what some people see as ‘morality’,” the statement read further.
Giving it a spin as an ‘attack on minorities, Dalits and women,’ the statement claimed, “It condemns minorities and Dalits to lead the life of second class citizens. It also conveys the message that women have no right in choosing their partners. It is an attack on all women in fact. It also fills the minds of many youths among majority community with hate.”
