eager
to grab such opportunities to safeguard rapidly
eroding vote banks or to grab new ones.
After the initial fracas had died down, reasons
for a new one have cropped up as if they had been
ordered. At first it looked like a harmless comment
by a man who is one of the most respected literary
figures of our country. Girish Karnad said that
‘Karnataka must adhere to the verdict’
and within no time he has been branded an anti-Kannadiga;
a great way of treating a person who played a
major part in putting Kannada literature and theatre
on India’s literary map. Reliable sources
report that at many places, ‘respected’
people have been addressing Mr. Karnad in ‘unparliamentary’
language.
This is not a place to dwell on the political,
social, moral or ethical correctness of the verdict
on Cauvery by the Supreme Court. A balanced view
can be given only by a person who has studied
in depth the socio-economic conditions of both
the states which Mr. Karnad has not.
So, if Mr. Karnad said that Karnataka must go
by what the Supreme Court said then that must
be seen as a statement made with total respect
to the highest judicial body in the country. The
Karnataka government with all the powers vested
in it by the people of Karnataka is still free
to take its course of action; so is the Tamil
Nadu government. But, no one has the right or
stature to talk of Mr. Karnad in a demeaning fashion.
Looks like insulting respected figures has become
a trend ever since a politician preaching Hindutva
in Maharashtra made some scalding remarks about
the First Citizen of our Country. |
