Karnataka is experiencing a scorching summer that is marked by a series of protests by political parties of different hues. The price hike, inflation, corruption and appeasement politics seem to be the flavour of the season. The rallies have transformed into pre-election events with each party trying to mobilise the cadres, setting the tone for the 2028 Assembly polls or an early poll considering the volatile political situation in the state.
On Wednesday, the 16-day ‘Jan Aakrosh yatra’ entered the ‘Hindutva’ heartland, Mangaluru, where the BJP leaders slammed the Siddaramaiah government’s “anti-Hindu” policies, alleging the politics of Muslim appeasement and misuse of ₹38,500 crores earmarked for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The Karnataka #BJP launched #JanakroshaYatra today from Mysuru against the #Congress government of #Karnataka... @BYVijayendra@BJP4Karnataka@BJP4India @CTRavi_BJP @NswamyChalavadi @JoshiPralhad @INCKarnataka @KPCCPresident pic.twitter.com/FJChEzKp8w
— Yasir Mushtaq (@path2shah) April 7, 2025
“Despite being the CM, you (Siddaramaiah) you are insulting the Hindus and the BJP workers have the power to uproot the Congress government in the state,” said State BJP president BY Vijayendra.
Stating that the Siddaramaiah government had emboldened the “traitors”, the BJP chief said, “A traitor and murderer of Praveen Nettar was being brought to the court yesterday and another traitor came and kissed his forehead in appreciation). If the BJP were to be in power and Yediyurappa the Chief Minister, the traitor would have been shot down on the spot.”
Vijayendra recalled the Kushalnagar incident where a BJP worker Vinay Somaiah had died by suicide allegedly due to harassment by the Congress leaders over a social media post.
“A case was filed against Vinay, and the police harassed him even after he got a bail and a stay in the court. We must give a befitting reply to this anti-Hindu government. Siddaramaiah has given 4 per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts. Why? Are Hindus not alive? The Congress government is giving crores of rupees for self-defense training of Muslim girls, when Hindu girls are falling prey to 'love jihad'. It has also increased the financial assistance to Muslim youths going abroad for higher education from ₹20 lakh to ₹30 lakh,” he added.
In Madikeri, former BJP state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel said it was not the Siddaramaiah’s government in the state, but a “jihadi Tughlaq government”.
“The yatra is to bring down the anti-Hindu government, which is oppressing the Hindus and arresting Hindu activists and cow-slaughter continued to take place with no fear of law,” he said.
Vijayendra highlighted that Chief Minister's Economic Advisor Basavaraja Rayareddy had himself dubbed Karnataka as “No.1 in corruption” in the country. “Earlier, when Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister, our government was second in the country in terms of development. However, now the state is number one in corruption, as Rayareddi claims,” he added.
Meanwhile, the JD(S) has launched the 'Sakappa Saaku Congress Sarkara' (Enough is Enough) campaign against the ruling Congress drawing attention to the price hike and corruption charges being faced by the Congress MLAs and ministers, including the chief minister.
The campaign led by JD(S) Youth President Nikhil Kumaraswamy has urged the people to register on the website and participate in the “Join the Movement” campaign. A massive protest will be held at Freedom Park on April 12, which will be led by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
"Today, we have launched the 'Sakappa Saaku Congress Sarkara' website. On this site, we have compiled the statements made by ministers and legislators, revealing their failures. This is not a one-day campaign. Ministers in this government have been involved and subjected to honey traps, the Congress high command in money traps, and the people of Karnataka have been subjected to tax traps," said Nikhil.
"During the by-elections, the government disbursed funds within 48 hours. For three constituencies, the Griha Lakshmi scheme money was released, but they failed to implement the guarantees properly. The campaign is to hold the Congress government accountable for all their misdeeds,” he added.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy said Congress was “weak” in math and said, "From 2004 to 2014, during the UPA government, the price of gas was ₹1,241. Now, it is ₹854. Even though there has been an increase of ₹50, the price is still only ₹850. During the Congress rule, gas prices were higher.”
