The return of moral policing to Mangalore is being seen by some as a political gimmick by saffron outfits to whip up support for the ruling party ahead of the coming assembly elections. Hindu Jagaran Vedike activists had barged into the Morning Mist Home Stay and assaulted the guests at a party there last Saturday, inviting widespread condemnation. But some believe the attack was a desperate attempt by the saffron outfits to unite Hindu voters with the assembly elections round the corner.
They claim that with the BJP’s vote base eroding as a result of porngate, the rave party in Udupi, the resignations of Haladi Srinivas Shetty, Nagaraj Shetty and the dissidence of Sullia MLA S. Angara, it is now trying to reach out to voters in the area by whipping up emotions. “Attacks like this one will make it seem to right wing followers that it is the only party that can protect them. This will naturally strengthen the BJP’s vote base,” says a former active worker of the RSS.
Others feel the Sangh’s attempts may boomerang. “The behaviour of these outfits could prove counterproductive. They tried to pose as saviours of our culture, but their true colours were revealed and this could work against them in the elections,” says DYFI district president, Muneer Katipalla . But the saffron outfits have struck a chord in some rural pockets. “It is true that the girls were ill treated, but they too were in the wrong. If it was a birthday party they should have celebrated it in their house and not gone out dressed like they were,” feel some villagers.