Kannada littérateur and Saraswati Samman winner S.L. Bhyrappa has accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of pursuing “vote-bank politics” over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and “misleading” the country on the issue.
Speaking to presspersons at his residence in the city on Friday, Mr. Bhyrappa said the Congress was adopting the “divide and rule policy of the British”, who had created a rift between Hindus and Muslims during the freedom struggle. Mr. Bhyrappa accused former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of following the British policy of dividing the Hindu society on caste basis and consolidating Muslim votes.
“The Congress allowed and encouraged the illegal migration of Muslims from the then East Pakistan into Assam. This did not stop even after the creation of Bangladesh, and even the Left parties which ruled West Bengal for 23 years allowed illegal migration to their State, from where the migrants dispersed to the rest of India,” Mr. Bhyrappa alleged. He claimed that the enactment of CAA had rattled the Congress and Left parties, whom he held responsible for the current stir across the nation. On Muslims being left out of CAA, Mr. Bhyrappa said there were many Muslim-majority countries “where they [Muslim migrants] can go to”.
Describing Mr. Modi as a “strongman who had taught Pakistan a lesson” through surgical strikes, Mr. Bhyrappa said this had won public applause and rattled the Congress, which fears he will win the next elections as well.
On the current protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Mr. Bhyrappa said the university has a history of strikes “abetted” by the Left. “There exists a set of students espousing the Left ideology in all universities, and they always indulge in strikes. Students should seek better library facilities, upgrade of laboratory etc. and demand the freedom to question professors in the classrooms, not engage in strikes as the university is being funded using the money of taxpayers,” Mr. Bhyrappa said. His views were endorsed by writer and retired professor Pradhan Gurudutt, who was also present.
