KPCC spokesperson alleges BJP planning communal flare-up before 2028 polls

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M. Lakshmana on Sunday cautioned the public against what he described as efforts by the BJP and its frontal organisations to engineer a major communal flare-up between Hindus and Muslims ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.

Speaking at a press conference in Mysuru, Mr. Lakshmana said the police and the State government must remain alert to the possibility that the BJP and its associates could use the Ganesha festivals of 2026 and 2027 to foment communal trouble for political advantage in the run-up to the next Assembly polls.

He described the BJP's protest at T. Narsipur town on Sunday as "shameful" and defended the local police inspector, saying the officer had done nothing wrong in cautioning groups taking out a Ganesha procession against creating a nuisance in front of a mosque. The warning, he noted, was issued in view of trouble witnessed at the same spot last year.

"Isn't it shameful that you are trying to find fault with the police official's statement? Isn't protecting law and order their responsibility?" he asked.

Mr. Lakshmana said that if the BJP had any sense of shame, its leaders would have backed the police inspector's statement instead of projecting it as an affront to the sentiments of the Hindu community.

He accused former MP Pratap Simha and sitting MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar of fanning communalism through their statements. Taking a swipe at the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, he alleged that R. Ashok, instead of visiting drought-hit areas to review drinking water arrangements, was only trying to incite communal violence with an eye on the next Assembly elections.

Targeting Mr. Yaduveer, Mr. Lakshmana said the Mysuru-Kodagu MP, who was present at T. Narsipur for the BJP protest on Sunday, had skipped a discussion in Madikeri on the Centre's notification on the Kasturi Rangan report.