<p>Desperate to control the damage caused by the new school textbooks, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will deploy Revenue Minister R Ashoka, the BJP's Vokkaliga face, to release a 200-page document on Thursday in an attempt to set the record straight. </p>.<p>According to sources, the 200-page document is primarily aimed at addressing objections and allegations raised by the Vokkaliga community, which the ruling BJP wants to woo ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. </p>.<p>Ashoka is scheduled to address a news conference on Thursday afternoon, which is seen as an attempt to soothe Vokkaliga sentiments and prevent the possibility of the community's votes consolidating against the BJP. </p>.<p>"The 200-page dossier has detailed explanations provided to each and every allegation with references made to all three committees that have revised textbooks," an official source from the primary & secondary education department said. "Not just the issues raised by the Vokkaliga community, there are even documents provided for other objections and allegations raised by various people and organisations," the source added. </p>.<p>Last week, the Vishwamanava Krantikari Mahakavi Kuvempu Horata Samiti staged a protest demanding the withdrawal of textbooks revised by the now-dissolved Rohith Chakratirtha committee. </p>.<p>The BJP, which is building a base for itself in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region, is wary of the narratives surrounding the new textbooks, especially the alleged affront caused to poet laureate Kuvempu. There were claims that the new textbooks had reduced content on Kuvempu, a Vokkaliga. Plus, the Nada Geete (state anthem) penned by him was recast to attack the Congress in the form of a WhatsApp forward that Chakratirtha had shared on a social media platform a few years ago, angering some Vokkaliga groups.</p>.<p>Much to the BJP's chagrin, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, who is arguably the tallest Vokkaliga politician, sided with the agitation against the government. Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, an emerging Vokkaliga icon, also showed up at the protest last week. </p>
<p>Desperate to control the damage caused by the new school textbooks, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will deploy Revenue Minister R Ashoka, the BJP's Vokkaliga face, to release a 200-page document on Thursday in an attempt to set the record straight. </p>.<p>According to sources, the 200-page document is primarily aimed at addressing objections and allegations raised by the Vokkaliga community, which the ruling BJP wants to woo ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. </p>.<p>Ashoka is scheduled to address a news conference on Thursday afternoon, which is seen as an attempt to soothe Vokkaliga sentiments and prevent the possibility of the community's votes consolidating against the BJP. </p>.<p>"The 200-page dossier has detailed explanations provided to each and every allegation with references made to all three committees that have revised textbooks," an official source from the primary & secondary education department said. "Not just the issues raised by the Vokkaliga community, there are even documents provided for other objections and allegations raised by various people and organisations," the source added. </p>.<p>Last week, the Vishwamanava Krantikari Mahakavi Kuvempu Horata Samiti staged a protest demanding the withdrawal of textbooks revised by the now-dissolved Rohith Chakratirtha committee. </p>.<p>The BJP, which is building a base for itself in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region, is wary of the narratives surrounding the new textbooks, especially the alleged affront caused to poet laureate Kuvempu. There were claims that the new textbooks had reduced content on Kuvempu, a Vokkaliga. Plus, the Nada Geete (state anthem) penned by him was recast to attack the Congress in the form of a WhatsApp forward that Chakratirtha had shared on a social media platform a few years ago, angering some Vokkaliga groups.</p>.<p>Much to the BJP's chagrin, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, who is arguably the tallest Vokkaliga politician, sided with the agitation against the government. Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, an emerging Vokkaliga icon, also showed up at the protest last week. </p>
