Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily believes that if the grand old party strategizes well for the elections and does not get ‘overconfident’, it can return to power with a full mandate.
In an exclusive interview to News18, Moily described corruption as a big issue. He called the move to increase the reservation quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas an “ad hoc one that has been done in an unscientific manner”.
edited excerpts
Is Congress Confident or Overconfident?
Congress is convinced. Overconfidence is not good. The confidence level is very good as we were starting early and the government (BJP) was sleeping. They, including their legislators, were involved in corruption. The ’40 percent’ slogan that was coined really clicked for us and touched people’s hearts. Santosh, a contractor, committed suicide for demanding commission. Another suicide took place in Ramnagar. There have been many suicides and it has really touched people. They think that yes, BJP is a corrupt government.
Do you think people will give full mandate to Congress?
Yes, because we held many meetings like the Mekedatu March. That too was a mega show of Congress and BJP tried to sabotage it by filing cases against all of us. Still we did not panic and the march went on successfully.
Do you think the Congress is better organized this time than in the last elections?
We are better organized than the last elections. We were very confident in 2018 because we were in government. That overconfidence killed us. That’s why we should not be overconfident this time. We reached people’s hearts through literature and they were greatly impressed by our work. Corruption is definitely a big issue in this election.
Another burning issue in Karnataka is that of reservation. On what basis did you give reservation to Muslims?
The matter went to the Supreme Court and they said that four per cent [quota] should be given. The decision was taken on the basis of a socio-educational survey conducted by the Minorities Commission headed by Rehman Khan. When you go to Supreme Court or High Court, they ask for data and this was available in Karnataka. That data proved to the courts that they are entitled to reservation.
BJP says that reservation given to minorities is unconstitutional and Congress and JDS have done it for vote bank politics.
If it was unconstitutional, the courts should have declared it so. He has gone to the courts here (Karnataka) as well as the Supreme Court. I did not specifically give reservation to Muslims. I have done this as a complete package for all backward classes. So the Muslims became a class. Contrary to Amit Shah’s allegations that it was a communal or religious reservation, it is not. I was conscious not to do it communally because I knew it would not be successful.
I have included in the list while implementing the Chinappa Reddy Commission. Chinappa Reddy was appointed, he conducted a survey and submitted a report to me and on that basis, I allotted classes like IA, IB, IIA, etc. Under that backward class order Muslims are classified as IIB. So it is a compact list of backward classes given to Muslims. Do you think anyone would allow us to implement it otherwise? It has been in force since 1993 till date… 35 years. BJP has suddenly woken up today and is calling it religious reservation.
If this goes to the courts today, will it survive?
It has gone to the Supreme Court and the High Court. My reservation decision was based on scientific data. The minorities, even the Muslims, have been treated as a class and not as a caste. This is not a caste based reservation and hence it has stood the test of law in the courts.
The Supreme Court has said only one thing that you cannot keep 72 per cent reservation and limit it to 50 per cent. I narrowed it down. First I gave six percent reservation to Muslims, then I reduced it to four percent. Other classes were also reduced in the same proportion to below 50 per cent.
Congress is saying that the decision on Muslim reservation will be withdrawn if it comes to power. But the reservation quota for Vokkaligas and Lingayats has now been increased.
How can they increase it? On what basis have they extended this without any scientific data? Whatever they (BJP) have done will be attacked.
The decision to increase or decrease the use of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is to be taken by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The BJP took the initiative to increase it and now it has crossed the 50 per cent mark. The present reservation is not enforceable at all. If you want to make any change in the state for Backward Classes, you have to report to the State Backward Classes Commission. The Chinappa Reddy Commission report was implemented, but it was challenged before the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case, which laid down the criteria for how the classification could be done.
It said that it can be reviewed every 10 years which is the order of the Supreme Court. If they wanted to do it, my commission was the last. Though BJP appointed another commission, they could not give report. The report of my commission has stood the scrutiny of law and the test of time. If you want to reverse or change it, you can do so by reconsidering it as reservation is not permanent or stable.
How do you see the BJP’s election pitch on promoting development rather than communalism?
Do you remember the statement of [Nalin Kumar] Who said Kateel that we are not interested in development, we will only talk about Hijab and other issues? This is to say of the state president of BJP. I come from Karavali (South Karnataka) region and won my seat in Karkala six times in a row, while my community had around 5,000-6,000 votes. When I was the leader of the state, I used to take more interest in strategy making at the state level. Earlier the two districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi used to be one. Including these two districts, not twice but thrice, we won them all. Out of the three Lok Sabha seats, I won all the three seats. In all district and taluka panchayat, we had 100 percent result. The Congress will have to strategize in such a way that this is a temporary phenomenon.
Now you have only one MLA in the area.
We have only one MLA there because the Congress did not strategize properly. If we make a good strategy, Congress can come back with 100 per cent results. This is also possible now. I have seen all these waves in my 55 years of experience.
BJP has been raising issues like Veer Savarkar, Tipu Sultan and Hijab. How do you see this narrative and its impact, especially in regions like Dakshina Kannada?
South Karnataka is a metropolitan area, a cauldron of all communities. There are Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Berries. Anyone from my micro community coming from the area can become the Chief Minister. Whenever I have contested elections, I have won. Suppose I go there today, I’m telling you this, I will win.
I am a historian of sorts and I want to tell you that Rani Abbakka was a brave warrior who fought against the Portuguese and kept them at bay. Even the British managed to occupy this area till the end because of the unity of the people. Tipu Sultan united the people, Rani Abbakka united the people. This is the secular character of the region. Had Tipu Sultan followed communalism, he would not have found a place in the hearts of the people of South Karnataka. Tipu Sultan was never communal. When Maratha kings attacked Sringeri, Tipu Sultan gave shelter, jewels and land to Sringeri Swamiji. A ‘puja’ is also performed in his name at Sringeri, Kollur and Nanjangud.
At Srirangapatna, which was his capital, one of the largest temples remains intact. They allowed a big temple to survive. History cannot be twisted.
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