In the run up to the Karnataka elections, it seems the Congress is falling flat everyday and their true colours are being exposed in the process. Karnataka, which goes to poll on 12th of May, has been witnessing political opportunism from the Congress party in their effort to retain power in the state. They are willing to take any approach that may serve their purpose. Karnataka assembly has a reserved number of seats for people from the marginalized section, i.e. Dalits. This reservation ensures that the marginalized sections also have a voice in state legislature and policy formulation.
No matter how fraudulent one is, it is hard to imagine that somebody would be so insensitive towards Dalits that he or she will commit forgery in order to further their political objective. Well, the Congress party which has voiced their solidarity with the recent Dalit protests around the country have done just that. An MLA from the Congress party has forged his caste certificate to contest election from a constituency which is reserved for Dalits. G. Manjunath who has previously won the 2013 state election tried to file his nomination paper for the Mulbgal seat, got his nomination cancelled by the election commission as that particular constituency is reserved for Dalits and the MLA is anything but Dalit. The Karnataka High court even disqualified his 2013 victory. This is one of the biggest electoral frauds witnessed by the state up until now.
The Congress party, which has been proclaiming its pro-Dalit stance in its electoral message, stands exposed of political opportunism. This fraudulent behaviour by the party’s MLA brings forth the real face of Congress party, one of exploitation and reducing the aspirations of certain section of the society to mere vote banks. It is not only illegal but one need to be extremely anti-Dalit to commit a nomination fraud in a Dalit reserved seat. These seats were created to provide equity and through this attempt to hijack the nomination by illegal means, the Congress party have proven themselves to be against social equity and fair representation of Dalits in the democracy.
This attitude of by-passing the law and the state apparatus comes naturally to Congress party as for nearly six decades they enjoyed insurmountable power and since the entitlement syndrome plagues the entire Congress party, it’s no wonder that they thought they don’t need to follow the law of the land. This disdain for law and order is what has defined Congress party for a long time but as we all know, old habits die hard.
If one thinks about the crassness of what has happened in Mulbgal, the antipathy for Dalits and their right to representation, in the Congress party becomes apparent. The Congress is not even willing to consider a Dalit candidate for a seat which is reserved for Dalits exclusively.
This political opportunism and disdain for the marginalized section of the society is not going to be tolerated by the people of Karnataka in the coming elections, especially the Dalit community whom the Congress was more than ready to sacrifice in their quest for power.
