BJP up in arms against Jnanpith awardees

BANGALORE: The BJP is crossing swords with Kannada writers, especially Jnanpith awardees UR Ananthamurthy and Girish Karnad.
The writers, who are known for their secular credentials and anti-Hindutva stand, have touched the raw nerve of BJP calling the party 'communal' and the party's PM nominee as a 'dictator' and 'tainted.' The Saffron brigade is upset and involved in vicious rants because the writers have not only expressed their support to the Congress, but are also campaigning for the candidates.The writers aren't blind to the allegations of corruption against the Congress-led UPA. According to Ananthamurthy: UPA may have done corrupt deeds, but the BJP is corrupt in the mind.''
The BJP leaders have dubbed the writes as Congress 'flatterers.' Former CM Jagadish Shettar even accused Ananthamurthy of having links with Naxalites, for which the writer mocked him by saying: Possibly Jagadish Shettar isn't aware of my books and the ideas in them. He has mistaken my face and my beard and said I have naxal connection.''
The BJP wants Ananthamurthy to be sacked as pro-vice-chancellor of the Central University in Gulbarga and punished for supporting the Congress. In its complaint before the Election Commission on Monday, the party stated: Ananthamurthy is speaking like a spokesperson of Congress. He has abused personalities, religion, caste and power. He should be dismissed from the position of pro vice-chancellor and punished.'' It's not all. The party wants the photographs of Ananthamurthy and Karnad removed from government schools, colleges and offices across the state (as a matter of pride, the schools, colleges and government offices display the photographs of all Jnanpith awardees).
It's not just the BJP, even the JD(S) is upset with the writers. Former CM and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy calls the writers' act as 'treachery' to Karnataka. They shouldn't side with any party. They should be above politics and work for the welfare of the people,'' he said.
However, the Congress party leadership is aggressively defending the writers. Siddaramaiah has shot back at the Saffron Brigade by saying: Does Jnanpith award snatch away the Constitutional rights of a writer?'' He further asked: Is there a law prohibiting freedom of expression of writers? SL Bhyrappa and M Chidanandamurthy have given statements supporting BJP. Who are we to stop them? Writes have the freedom to express their opinion.''
Besides the Ananthamurthy-Karnad duo, there are several others who have formed a forum called -- Karnataka Secular Federation (KSF) - to campaign against the BJP. The KSF comprises writers GK Govindarao, Nallur Prasad, K Marulasiddappa and Agrahara Krishnamurthy among others. They are not campaigning for a specific party, but have given a call to people to support any secular candidate and defeat the BJP.
Meanwhile, noted Dalit writer Devanur Mahadev who is associated with Sarvodaya Karnataka party has extended his party's support to Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Though most writers have expressed their support to the Congress, there are some like Saraswati Samman awardee SL Bhyrappa who have appreciated Modi. People think I am a BJP supporter. I do not belong to any party. Modi is a very active man. He is an able administrator,'' he said on Sunday. Another eminent scholar M Chidanandamurthy is also seen as a Right-Winger.
The ideology of most Kannada writers is known and they have expressed their preferences in the past too. Hyderabad-born Marxist poet Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, was one of the earliest writers to contest LS polls in Karnataka. The lyricist, who penned Bollywood songs like Rail gaadi chuk buk and My heart is beating in Julie, contested as an independent from Bangalore city constituency in 1957 and lost. He had successfully contested as an independent from Vijayawada in 1951.
Noted poetM Gopalakrishna Adiga had contested from Bangalore in 1971 on Bharatiya Jana Sangh ticket and lost. On ideological grounds, in 2006, U R Ananthamurthy had contested against businessman Rajiv Chandrashekar in the Rajya Sabha polls, but lost.
A Narayana of Azim Premji University says he is disgusted with the way the BJP leadership has responded. I don't find fault with the writers. They have the right to identify themselves with a party. Probably, they should have explained their stand more elaborately and clearly than merely advertising. I am worried about the way the BJP has reacted. It is cheap and disgusting. Ours is argumentative culture. The BJP definitely could have responded in a more decent manner,'' he said.