South leads as an example to North
During last elections, Amit Shah had visited Kerala and had spoken down upon the state government and its administration. He had said the government had failed in protecting the interests of people and was harbouring terrorists in the state. People had responded with scathing criticism to such sweeping statements by Shah and had trended #PoMoneShaji on social media.
At this state it is imperative to remember this is not the first time BJP and its leaders nurse ill feelings about Kerala. They have lowly opinion about every south Indian state. Paying heed to this are some Karnataka BJP leaders who keep saying they’d bring ‘Gujarat model’ to state, to please their north Indian bosses. Since long, people from North feel people down south are made to be ruled by them and they accept that hierarchy. A BJP leader had even made very insensitive statement about ‘race’ in south Indian states vis-à-vis north Indian states.
One needn’t go too far to understand the mindset behind this statement. South India has always been posing a challenge to BJP and RSS’s Brahmin-centric mindset. The Dravida movement of south has always been about questioning status quo. Except for Karnataka, BJP hasn’t been able to gain a foothold in any other southern parts of the state. Even in Karnataka, the party hasn’t been so successful. Hence, the party is trying hard to create biases and ill feelings about south Indians.
The central leaders keep referring to Kerala at least once a month. That state has been posing serious challenges to the party and political outfit, in gaining ground there. And in order to prove the biases wrong and unfounded, a PIA survey has revealed all the south Indian states where BJP isn’t ruling, have been ranked among the top ones where administration is at its best.
PAC has ranked Kerala the highest, the very state that has been criticized by the BJP over and again. The other states on the toppers’ list include Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka. The states that are known for unrest and mob violence incidents, such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand among others figure towards the end of the list.
PAC was set up by economist Samuel Paul in 1994. This agency releases a report on social and economic progress of the states, based on the data and other parameters. Social security given to citizens, women and children especially figures in the list. States have been divided based on their population as well. All this has helped Kerala top the list of best administration and other citizen satisfaction parameters. At the same time, all other states with BJP rule have done miserably according to the list. This goes to prove polarization and emotional politics, playing with people’s feelings does not yield good results. When the survey was done in Karnataka, the Congress govt led by CM Siddaramaiah was in power here.
The BJP would unnecessarily criticize Siddaramaiah government at every given instance. Without any basis, the BJP would call the government a corrupt one. But now the progress report submitted by PAC is presenting a different picture altogether. Yeddyurappa may have assured to bring a Gujarat Model to Karnataka, but Siddaramaiah ensured the Karnataka model was higher than that. The North Indian leaders want South India to lose its identity, with their consistent imposition of Hindi on us. While BJP played the Hindu-Muslim card, Siddaramaiah worked on the overall progress of the state. There is a lot for the BJP leaders to learn in South India.
Today, the North Indian states are mired with mob violence, and lynching incidents. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are known for Gau Rakshak sponsored violences. The PM isn’t even aware of the fact that the whole world is watching these incidents. The BJP has chosen Karnataka as a lab to experiment with violence and hatred based politics. The coastal Karnataka is already mired in such incidents. If the BJP is successful in spreading this violent model of politics, the impact of this would be on the progress indicators.
Social and economic parameters will suffer owing to this. The states that are known for best administration would begin to lose that advantage. The mob lynching virus has already spread to south India too. Some murders have happened during daylight. South India should never follow the example of North. The states here must serve as an example of giving best administration to the rest of India, without succumbing to petty politics played by BJP.
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Will follow Shinde in any direction he goes: MLA Shirsat on allying with Pawar Sr for CM post
Mumbai, Nov 21: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday said his party leaders will follow Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in any direction he goes post-assembly poll results and decisions taken by him will be acceptable to them.
He asserted the party will solidly back Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, as it trusts his leadership, comments coming two days ahead of the state assembly poll results.
Asked what if Shinde goes with rival NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar to become the chief minister for a second time, Shirsat said, "We are committed to (follow) whatever Eknath Shinde decides. We will be solidly with him. We trust him and it will always be there."
The MLA from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (West) was responding to the question asked on a TV channel.
Shirsat said Shinde, who took over as CM in June 2022 after revolting against the then leadership of the Shiv Sena, only goes in the "right direction" and this has been the experience of party leaders.
Shirsat was one of the Shiv Sena MLAs who sided with Shinde at the time of the revolt.
Asked about the comments of his ally, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said, "Shirsat's remarks do not reflect the official stance of the party. Eknath Shinde's party contested against Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP). Such an alliance with the MVA was inconceivable."
The BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP headed by deputy CM Ajit Pawar are members of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. On the other hand, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Asked what if Shinde is not made the CM again if Mahayuti retains power, Shirsat said, "A decision on this will be taken only by Eknath Shinde. It's his right and we cannot even comment on it. Whatever decision Shinde takes will be acceptable to us."
Voting for the 288-member state assembly concluded on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.
