Explained: Karnataka 'sovereignty row' and Sonia Gandhi’s remarks

FP Explainers • May 8, 2023, 19:52:08 IST

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The Congress, referring to Sonia Gandhi’s poll speech, on Saturday tweeted that the party would not allow anyone to ‘pose a threat to Karnataka’s reputation, sovereignty or integrity’. The BJP is alleging that this amounts to the Congress calling for the state to secede

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Explained: Karnataka 'sovereignty row' and Sonia Gandhi’s remarks

The BJP has moved the Election Commission against Congress and its former president Sonia Gandhi. The party has called for action against Sonia and for the Congress to be derecognised. A BJP delegation headed by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav submitted a memorandum to the poll watchdog. “Karnataka is a very important member State in the Union of India and any call to protect the sovereignty of a member State of the Union of India amounts to a call for secession and is fraught with perilous and pernicious consequences,” the party said. The BJP also submitted a copy of the Congress tweet quoting Ms. Gandhi on the issue. Let’s take a look at the row: What happened? The Congress, referring to Sonia’s poll speech, on Saturday tweeted that the party would not allow anyone to “pose a threat to Karnataka’s reputation, sovereignty or integrity”.

However, according to Indian Express, Sonia did not mention the word ‘sovereignty’ in her speech’. “I would like to tell them on your behalf, ‘Don’t think the people of Karnataka are this powerless and weak’. People of Karnataka are not dependent on anyone’s blessings, but trust their hard work and resolve. People of Karnataka are not cowards or greedy that you can mislead them,” Sonia said. What is BJP saying? The BJP is arguing that the Congress wants to ‘separate’ Karnataka from India. The preamble to the Constitution reads: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC…IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.” Its positioning at the beginning of the Preamble spells out its importance in the Constitution, as per Indian Express. “Such a tweet is well-considered evil design to provoke the staunch nationalists, peace-loving, progressive and globally recognised people of Karnataka. The intent apparently is to disturb the equanimity, harmony and peace that obtains in Karnataka just to garner the votes and support of some select communities or groups, whose sole purpose and intent is to disrupt the very being of the Indian State,” the BJP told the Election Commission in its complaint as per NDTV. “Karnataka is a very important member state in the Union of India and any call to protect the sovereignty of a member State of the Union of India amounts to a call for secession and is fraught with perilous & pernicious consequences,” the letter further read. Describing this statement as “shocking and unacceptable”, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, who filed the complaint, said Sonia has violated provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and requested the EC to take stringent action against her for making “such a statement.” Karandlaje, Convener of the BJP Election Management Committee, also requested the EC to issue direction to register a FIR against her and take exemplary punitive action. “This is an insult to freedom fighters from Karnataka, who fought for India’s independence. It is an insult to crores of patriotic Kannadigas, who swear by India and cherish their Indianness,” said the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. The statement would lead to division on the basis of language and statehood, the complaint alleged. The BJP also demanded that the Congress should apologise for its advertisement listing “corruption rates” in the state, between 2019 and 2023, while attacking the BJP government. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a public meeting in Mysuru district, claimed that the “disease” of the “tukde-tukde gang” had reached the Congress’s top level. [caption id=“attachment_12553362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress.[/caption] “When it comes to working against India’s interests, Congress’s ‘royal family’ will be at the forefront. I want to speak about a serious issue here, I want to say it as there is a lot of pain in my heart. This country can never forgive such a game. This family, to influence the politics in the country, is encouraging foreign forces to interfere,” Modi alleged. Modi accused the Congress of secretly meeting foreign diplomats who hate India and repeatedly indulging in activities that insult India’s sovereignty, and said they were not ashamed of it. Stating that in this Karnataka election, Congress’ ‘shahi parivar’ had gone a step ahead, “breaking all the limits and crushing the feelings of the country”. Modi added, “Not only Karnataka, I want to tell this to the entire country with a lot of pain that in this election Congress’s ‘shahi parivar’ yesterday came to Karnataka and said that they want to protect the ‘sovereignty’ of Karnataka. “Karnataka’s sovereignty, you know what is the meaning of it? They have sat in Parliament for so many years, they have taken oath on India’s Constitution, and they say this… When a country becomes independent, that country is called a sovereign country. The meaning of what Congress is saying is that the Congress believes that Karnataka is separate from India,” he claimed. BJP’s Amit Malviya then tweeted:

Sonia Gandhi spoke about Karnataka’s ‘sovereignty’…

A sovereign by definition is an independent nation.

Does Congress think of Karnataka as independent from India?

This is an insult to freedom fighters from Karnataka, who fought for India’s independence. It is an insult to… pic.twitter.com/ydPtAyI9mr
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 7, 2023

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