The Karnataka election and its aftermath have arguably provided the Congress ample opportunities to target the BJP on issues the latter have always highlighted.
After the voting threw up a fractured mandate on Tuesday, the Congress had accused the BJP of horse-trading, a charge that used to be levelled at the grand old party when it dominated national politics. On Saturday, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi slammed BJP legislators for walking out as the national anthem was being played after B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister.
Gandhi, who was speaking at a press conference in New Delhi after Yeddyurappa's resignation, said the incident showed the BJP had “no respect” for national institutions. Congress party supporters, journalists and other social media voices also targeted the BJP members for walking out during the national anthem.
The criticism will bite the BJP, which has always sought to play up its affection for the national anthem and Vande Mataram, the national song. In Uttarakhand, soon after coming to power in March 2017, the BJP government made it mandatory for colleges to play the national anthem in the morning and national song in the afternoon.
The BJP had welcomed a Supreme Court order in November 2016 that made it mandatory for people to stand in movie theatres when the anthem was played.
However, in January this year, the Narendra Modi government asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its November 2016 decision.