Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's defence of moral policing in the state, terming it as part of normal "actions and reactions” when ‘’sentiments are hurt’’, is highly irresponsible and could further embolden fringe elements to take the law into their own hands. While his predecessor B S Yediyurappa refused to succumb to divisive politics and took everybody along, it is disheartening that Bommai, who has his moorings in socialist ideology, has thrown his weight behind the hate brigade, instead of denouncing them outright. The Chief Minister’s indirect justification of moral policing during his tour of coastal districts amounts to tacit approval of attempts by some elements with primitive mindsets to divide the state on lines of caste and religion. Far from invoking the might of the law to crush such anti-social elements, Bommai defended moral policing as a “societal Issue” and urged the youth to act in a way that sentiments of others were not hurt. For good measure, he added, “There should be morality. We cannot live without morality,” leaving nobody in doubt about where his sympathies lie.
The coast has always represented the progressive face of Karnataka with its pioneering efforts in the fields of education, healthcare and banking. But some communal elements with a regressive mindset are trying to spoil its image now. While an attack on pub-going girls grabbed national headlines a few years ago, these days even casual socialising between members of different communities is attracting the wrath of rabid Hindutva groups in the form of physical assaults. The seeds of divisiveness sown in the coast are now sprouting in different parts of the state, with a young Muslim man in Belagavi being beheaded recently for pursuing a relationship with a Hindu girl. Such incidents are a blot on the reputation of the state which always had the best personal and social relations among members of different communities. Its dominant culture was multi-religious and tolerant and it has always had institutions in all fields that embodied and supported that culture. But the government, which should ensure that the culture is maintained and strengthened, is actually sending out signals that would weaken it.
Bommai was known to be soft on fringe groups during his earlier stint as home minister. But as a minister and more so as the Chief Minister he is expected to don the role of a statesman and follow ‘rajdharma’, as former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would say, without pandering to communal and other vested interests. Morality is extremely subjective as what is moral to one could be immoral to another. Bommai should be more concerned about upholding the rule of law and the secular spirit of the Constitution, instead of imposing a skewed moral code on the people through vigilante groups, which will bring him no honour.
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