Foreign media first to pick up hijab row: Karnataka revenue minister

He said that there are organisations working behind the scenes

A six-time legislator, Revenue Minister R Ashoka is widely seen as number two in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s cabinet. Ashoka talks to Bharath Joshi on some policy reforms, the upcoming Bengaluru civic polls, and the 2023 Assembly showdown. Excerpts:

You oversaw a contentious reform that allowed non-agriculturists to own farmlands. Has this met its objective of attracting youngsters to agriculture?

Yes, people are heading to the villages. Some 12-13 lakh acres of land were not under cultivation. This is due to many reasons, such as people migrating to cities. When an educated person returns to one’s village, he or she also brings knowledge. Due to Covid, many returned to their villages and took up agriculture. Of them, 2-3% haven't returned to the cities. The law was necessary when it was made all those years ago. Unauthorised sale of agricultural land was happening anyway, causing losses worth crores in stamp duties to the government. Now, the government will get revenue. Also, this will attract industries that were going to Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. They can get land wherever they want.

What about land conversion?

In Bengaluru, land conversion for non-agricultural purposes takes 4-5 months. In other places, it is 1-2 months. This is leading to corruption and delays that are torturing people. We want to simplify this. Conversion orders should be issued within 1-2 days. We will get people to file an affidavit saying their land is not in violation of any law. If any illegality is found, the conversion order is revoked, and money forfeited. This will deter people from submitting bogus documents.

You said once that the land mafia is so powerful that even the government can’t control them.

Our laws are like that. If there's a lake encroachment and we move to recover (it), a stay order is brought immediately. To have that cleared, it takes many years. The land-grabbers hire expensive lawyers whereas our attorneys get just Rs 5,000-10,000. I've requested the CM to give us a separate litigation team. Now, we’re winning just 10% of cases. If we have our own legal team, we can win 60-70%.

When will the BBMP elections be held?

We wanted to hold elections in December. But it didn’t happen then. There’s a case already before the Supreme Court. Based on whatever order comes, we will hold the elections. The government's intention is to hold the polls as soon as possible, keeping in mind the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Parliament elections.

Is the BJP afraid of facing elections in Bengaluru?

No, we're not. Delimitation of wards is being done to set right a huge disparity. There's no hidden agenda. In some city wards, the population is 22,000. Elsewhere, it is as high as 1.5 lakh. This led to disparity in allocation of funds. Also, councillors faced difficulty in managing such huge wards.

Your own MLAs seem wary of Congress’ momentum, especially DK Shivakumar’s.

Normally, the Opposition becomes active a year before elections. There’s nothing special about this. However, the BJP started preparation before Congress. We are in government. We want to go to polls on the development plank and that’s our focus.

What do you think will be the issues for 2023 polls? Or, would you say it’ll be an issue-less election?

No election happens without an issue. Karnataka, especially. We won an election once solely on the issue of 'a broken promise'. Our party faced elections with Hindutva and Ayodhya as the plank. Now, there's the hijab issue.

Will the hijab issue be a plus for the BJP?

I don't know. We don't have a 'plus or minus' mindset. But it will be a major issue after having made headlines globally.

So, the hijab issue coupled with the Shivamogga violence gives the BJP a Hindutva narrative for 2023.

That's how the current atmosphere is. If an election happens today, we will win a majority easily. Congress' divided stand [on hijab] and the infighting between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah...we will sweep the election.

Was the hijab controversy needed at all?

When six Muslim girls started protesting, within one hour, foreign media picked it up even before local media. This makes it clear that there are foreign hands involved. It looks like a fallout of the fight between the Congress and PFI. The PFI wants to take Congress out of the equation. The PFI has started winning some local body polls, which has emboldened them to take on bigger political issues. The PFI will be a big threat to the Congress. In the previous Assembly session, Congress raised KS Eshwarappa’s issue (saffron flag) to prevent the hijab controversy from coming up. Siddaramaiah wanted hijab to be discussed, but Shivakumar did not, keeping Hindu votes in mind. They're confused.

Isn't it wrong to drag students into a political fight? The Bommai-led BJP government may have to bear this cross.

Such issues concerning students shouldn’t have been raised. But you see, nobody is wearing saffron stoles now whereas the hijab continues to be worn. Clearly, we can understand that there are organisations working behind the scenes.

Could there be attempts within the BJP to destabilise Bommai by raking up controversies despite his disapproval?

Those trying to destabilise Bommai are mad. The high command has already put such things to rest. Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself in Davangere said Bommai is the CM who will lead the party into the next election.

That hasn’t stopped the bickering.

So, if such things are continuing, then people are mad. There's no question of changing Bommai. No party, especially BJP, will do that so close to an election. Everything is under control now. Everyone is supportive of Bommai.

It is said that Bommai's inexperience shows sometimes.

He comes from a family where his father was CM and a central minister. Bommai, too, has been a legislator multiple times and a minister in the past. Bommai is intelligent in that he knows how to handle people without creating confusion. He is treating everybody in a balanced way.