oppn parties Backlash Over Congress Promise To Ban Bajrang Dal

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Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena says government cannot be run from jail, hints at President's Rule in the capital ////// In a dangerous incident, the wings of two planes grazed while taxiing on the runway at Kolkata airport, all passengers were safe but DGCA ordered an inquiry and the pilots were derostered
oppn parties
Backlash Over Congress Promise To Ban Bajrang Dal

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2023-05-04 06:42:24

The Congress stand of equating the Bajrang Dal with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and talking about banning the former if it comes to power in Karnataka in its election manifesto for the state has resulted in a strong backlash. Apart from the BJP which has gone to town to paint the Congress as anti-Hindu, there is anger in the public too. Many in the state Congress think that this is blunder which will cost the party dearly as many Hindus are likely to turn against it. The party has clarified that it has only said that whichever organization tries to disrupt peace in Karnataka will be banned, it is clear that the damage has been done.

It seems that the Congress was trying to woo Muslim votes in a state that has seen disruptions over the hijab, halal meat and Muslim shops in Hindu temple fairs, among other things. But it seems to have miscalculated. The Muslims in the state were in any case unlikely to vote for the BJP. But with the latest manifesto 'blunder' the Congress seems to have angered a section of Hindus. How this is going to affect voting remains to be seen but in Karnataka, starting from Prime Minister Modi downwards, the BJP has made Jai Bajrangbali the war cry for now to rub salt in the Congress' wounds.

It seems that close to polling day, the Congress has hit a self goal. The Karnataka polls were headed for a close finish with indications of a hung assembly. But the Congress might have made things difficult for itself by naming Bajrang Dal in its manifesto. Although the BJP is upbeat that it can use the Congress 'blunder' to its advantage, it remains to be seen how it will affect voting patterns in a state more concerned about caste equations.