Internal reservation, Cong's poll promises led to BJP's defeat in Karnataka: Party MLAs
Bengaluru(PTI): Along with "internal injury" caused by the internal reservation and people voting for Congress believing in its poll guarantees, a negative narrative setting in against the BJP because of its failure in effectively countering certain issues, led to its defeat in the recent Assembly polls in Karnataka, according to party MLAs.
A meeting of BJP MLAs elected to the 16th Assembly convened by state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel here, also decided to take the achievements of nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to every house, and to work towards ensuring a hundred per cent win for the party in all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
BJP had won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in 2019.
"Along with introducing 22 legislators who have been elected for the first time, the meeting today tried to instill confidence among the legislators to work as a constructive opposition by extending all necessary cooperation to the new government to serve the people of the state," BJP national general secretary C T Ravi said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, "If the government indulges in anti-people activities, if it takes decisions that are detrimental to the state with a hidden agenda, it was decided at the meeting to fight against it both inside and outside the legislature."
Former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai and Sadananda Gowda, national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh among other senior leaders attended the meeting.
Stating that the meeting also analysed the political situation in the state, the party general secretary said that no ruling party has won a second consecutive term since 1985 in Karnataka.
"There seems to be a natural trend that has set in Karnataka in the last four decades to change the government once in five years, despite that we have won 36 per cent votes, we have got similar vote share we got in 2018, but we lagged behind in gaining seats," he said.
Ravi said, "Along with internal injury caused by the internal reservation and people voting for Congress believing in its guarantees, a negative narrative setting in because of BJP's failure in effectively countering certain issues, led to his party's defeat, was the general opinion expressed in today's meeting."
The BJP will not lose heart with the results and will certainly bounce back as it has done in the past. Our role might have changed from ruling party to opposition, but our commitment towards serving the society has not changed and it will continue to work in that direction, he said.
Regarding who will be the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and also in the Council, Ravi said general secretary Arun Singh is gathering the opinion of the legislators. On the basis of it and in consultation with the party leadership, a decision will be taken at the earliest, he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
RSS mouthpiece article on church properties shows their 'true mindset': Kerala CM
Thiruvananthapuram/Kozhikode (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that a recent article in a RSS mouthpiece about the property owned in the country by the Catholic Church indicates the "true mindset" of the right-wing organisation and the alleged "majority communalism of the Sangh Parivar".
In a statement issued by his office, Vijayan said that though the article was removed from the website of the RSS mouthpiece, it gives some "negative signals".
The CM also alleged that it should be seen as part of "a grand plan to target the minority groups one by one and destroy them step by step".
A similar view was expressed by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan who claimed that the article shows that the RSS has now set its eyes on the property of the church.
In his statement, the CM further claimed that it also shows the Sangh Parivar's "intense majority communalism which is against other religious communities".
Vijayan urged all progressive democratic secular movements to jointly resist such moves.
Satheesan, while speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, claimed that in the article the RSS has asked the central government to acquire the over seven crore hectares of land belonging to the Catholic Church.
He contended that according to the RSS, the church property was illegally leased during the British era.
Satheesan claimed that the RSS demand in the article came on the same day when the Waqf Bill was passed in the Parliament.
"We warned that if the Waqf Bill is passed, the Church Bill will follow," he added.
The opposition leader said that such actions indicate that while the Sangh Parivar was trying to appease Christians in Kerala, it was attacking them in the rest of the country.
He expressed hope that the Christians will recognise them as "wolves in sheep's clothing".
