“All have to follow the High Court [of Karnataka] order on the hijab row. It is the duty of citizens to obey the order. It is binding on all of us,” KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi said in Belagavi on Tuesday.
“We should not go into the reasons behind it or try to analyse it at this point. We should follow it. It is for the petitioners to consider going on an appeal against it,’’ he told journalists.
To a query, he said that he did not think that the judgment is one sided or that it is in favour of one religion and against another. “Some people may say that, but I will not,’’ he said.
Mr. Jarkiholi accused the BJP of trying to divide society by spreading hatred against minorities by promoting the film The Kashmir Files. BJP leaders are masters of propaganda. “The BJP is asking film-makers aligned to its ideology to make films with a political agenda and then use those films to spread hatred in society, divide it on communal line and gain political benefits,’’ he said.
“By using films like The Kashmir Files, the BJP orchestrates riots. It is the BJP which is behind most of the violent attacks and riots in which minorities are attacked. The BJP continues to benefit from such riots. The BJP gains power and support by organising riots in which its cadre wear saffron shawls worth ₹10 and commit violent acts,’’ he said.
He also accused the BJP of communalising and politicising the death of its workers. “When a BJP worker or supporter dies, it cries foul that a Hindu activist died. But when a Congress supporter is killed, he is termed as a Kuruba or a Dalit. Such are the double standards used by the BJP,’’ he said.
“The BJP leaders are making a big issue out of the death of one of its supporters in Shivamogga. But when some Hindu youth, who were Congress supporters, died in Udupi or Vijayapura, the BJP leaders kept quiet,’’ he said.
He defended the Congress working committee’s decision to continue with Sonia Gandhi as party president. There is no change in our leadership. We cannot change it. That is because the party cannot function properly without the leadership of Ms. Gandhi. There have been some instances wherein others held the position of the party president earlier. But they were unsuccessful. The majority opinion in the party is that she should continue,” the Congress leader said.
To a query, he said that electoral politics in the State cannot be compared to that in Goa or Uttar Pradesh. “We have our vote-bank intact here. Of course, the recent election results in five States have given us some lessons and we will learn from them. We will organise the party from the grassroots level and bring the party to power in future,” he added.
