JOIN USCongress is pushing soft Hindutva, they're confused: Ibrahim
Former Union minister C M Ibrahim’s new address is the JD(S) office, where he was appointed as the regional party’s Karnataka president recently, after he left the Congress, a party he had been with for 14 years. Ibrahim tells DH’s Shruthi HM Sastry why he thinks the JD(S) will come to power in the 2023 Assembly polls. Excerpts:
Ever since you took charge as the JD(S) state president, you’ve reiterated that HD Kumaraswamy will be the next CM. How will this materialise?
There’s a vacuum in Karnataka’s politics today. There is no firm leadership in the BJP, and after B S Yediyurappa, there is only turmoil. The Congress is in confusion. There is no coordination in the party. Except for two people (Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar), there is no third person who can bring people together. Siddaramaiah lost his appeal when Kumaraswamy was removed (as Chief Minister). Secular voters, particularly Muslims, are aware why Kumaraswamy was removed.
What is your strategy to bring JD(S) to power?
The BJP is trying communal politics in Karnataka, which will not work. People here have always been secular as the state has a heritage of philosophers such as Basavanna, Sarvajna, Kuvempu among others. We’ll work to bring people from different faiths and communities together. People have seen both parties. They want to give Kumaraswamy an opportunity. I’ll soon start holding public meetings, beginning from Basavanna’s birthplace, Basava Kalyana. I’m also in talks with seers from various communities, seeking their support to ensure harmony in the state.
You’ve talked about starting the ALINGO movement to bring together minorities, Lingayats and Vokkaligas. What happened to it?
We’ll start the campaign soon after Ramzan. The idea is to bring together minorities, Lingayats and Vokkaligas for the upliftment of Dalits and Backward Classes. If Muslims and Vokkaligas join together, they’ll get 55 seats in the Old Mysuru region. If Lingayats and Muslims join together, they’ll get 90 seats in those regions.
The JD(S) has set a target of winning 123 seats. Do you see this as a realistic aim?
If my strategies are followed, I believe the party can go up to 125 seats. No one believed me when I said in 1994 that H D Deve Gowda will become the CM. I even predicted him becoming the Prime Minister and everyone laughed.
Decisions in JD(S) are believed to be largely with either Gowda or Kumaraswamy. As the state president, do you have an independent role?
If it wasn’t there, I would not have joined the party. They know my capability. Whatever decision I take will be in the interest of the party.
You are being seen as the Muslim face of JD(S) now. Will you be able to swing Muslim votes from Congress to JD(S)?
I have never been a ‘Muslim’ face. I am the face of the people of Karnataka.
Will you contest the 2023 Assembly polls?
I am not a power-monger. I don’t want to be the king. I want to be a kingmaker. My first priority is to ensure that people of all faiths live together harmoniously in the state.
If JD(S) has to ally with either BJP or Congress in the next polls, which party would you prefer?
Let that time come. I feel people will give us an independent mandate.
Hubballi saw a communal clash recently. Incidentally, you headed the Janata Dal in the 1990s when the Eidgah violence took place there. Has much changed at all over the decades?
The BJP tried their best back then, and even now this is the BJP’s doing. That time Basavaraj Bommai was with me in Janata Dal. I went to Hubbali a day after my son’s demise and brought about a settlement between Hindus and Muslims. We hoisted the national flag in Eidgah Maidan. I have now requested the Muslim community not to fall for provocation, like the recent incidents during Ramnavami. Whatever happens, we will see to it that there is peaceful consensus.
The BJP is clear about its Hindutva agenda. What about the secular parties? They were silent during the recent hijab row in the state. Haven’t they failed the minorities?
That’s why I left Congress. Everyone is saying I quit because I didn’t get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council. That’s not the main reason. Congress started pushing soft Hindutva. They are confused and do not know what to talk about. Congress has let down the minority community in all aspects.
Are you saying that the JD(S) has stood up for minorities?
There’s historical evidence for this. The 4% reservation for Muslims was given by Deve Gowda. Reservation in technical and medical college and the setting up of residential schools for Muslims were also his efforts. The Hubballi Eidgah maidan issue was settled during the Janata Dal regime. Give us an opportunity and there will be no communal incidents in the state.
There have been demands for a ban on organisations such as the PFI and SDPI. Should they be banned?
Until there are organisations such as Bajrang Dal, there will be organisations such as the PFI. Congress made a mistake by seeking a ban on SDPI and PFI without seeking a ban on fringe Hindutva groups such as the Bajrang Dal. This shows their soft Hindutva stand. I am not justifying PFI or SDPI. I am merely stating that if a fringe party of one faith exists, there will be attempts to counter it. We should bring all these parties to the mainstream by convincing them to work in the larger interest of the nation.
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