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Acid attack on Congress workers during victory rally in Karnataka: A curtain raiser for 2019?

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Yashee
YasheeSep 03, 2018 | 20:46

Acid attack on Congress workers during victory rally in Karnataka: A curtain raiser for 2019?

Around 10 people have been injured in a reported acid attack on a victory rally of a Congress candidate, Inayatullah Khan, in Tumkur in Karnataka. Results of the Karnataka Urban Local Body elections were announced on September 3.

This is a terrible portent of things to come.

This was just an urban local body election. If results to this can lead to such violence, it paints a truly scary picture of what to expect when the stakes are higher. Much higher.

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The state government must lose no time in tracing the culprits and bringing them to book. Also, governments from every state, the Centre, and all political parties must strongly condemn the attack in no uncertain terms.

This is also a lesson for all political parties to watch the vitriol in their words, for this is proof of what supporters, fired up on acidic rhetoric, can get up to.

The Karnataka local body elections have come as a disappointment for the BJP, which recently narrowly missed a shot at power in the state.

In the results announced on Monday, the Congress won 954 of the 2,709 seats, the BJP 905 seats, and the JD(S) 364 seats. While the Congress and the JD(S) had fought separately, they had announced they would join hands post the elections.

The results have come as a vote of confidence for the Congress-JD(S) coalition government ruling the state, which has had a wobbly run so far.

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The Congress and JD(S) contested the polls separately despite being partners in the state government, but they have declared to tie up post-election in urban bodies. (Credit: PTI)

But irrespective of who the winner is, the attack is a serious breach of law and order, and the government needs to show all serious intent and ability in dealing with it.

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Elections are what keep a democracy running. An attack on a victory rally is an attack on the electoral process. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of all the participants of the electoral process — the winning and the losing candidates, and their supporters.

At a time when the arrest of certain activists is being widely justified on the grounds that their activities were allegedly inimical to the country and its democratically elected government, this attack, on the country’s democratic process itself, must get all the attention it deserves from the authorities.

It is the responsibility of all political parties to make it clear to their supporters that such acts will not be tolerated.

It is the responsibility of the state and the central government to send out the message — loud and clear — that the perpetrators of such acts will not escape.

We are moving towards a high-stakes General Elections in 2019. The country must not be allowed to turn into a tinder box, and for that, every small fire needs to be put out, swiftly, and decisively.  

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Last updated: September 03, 2018 | 20:46
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