Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress more worried about vote bank, says Pralhad Joshi on Neha murder, Muslim quota

I am 100% confident that the BJP will do well. The people of Karnataka are aware of the Modi government’s performance and the work that has gone into making our country powerful, says Pralhad Joshi in interview with DH.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi speaks to Amrita Madhukalya of DH about the Neha Hiremath murder case, the Prajwal Revanna sex abuse case and the Muslim reservations in Karnataka, among a range of issues. Edited excerpts: 

The Congress has accused the BJP of communalising the Neha murder case. How do you respond? 

In the Hubballi college girl’s murder case, the Congress, like always, resorted to politics of appeasement and encouraged communalism. Its charges against BJP are totally political. Instead of that, the party should do self-introspection, which it never does. Whether it is the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru or Neha’s murder, the Congress government’s response has been to paint a different picture. The party is known for its soft approach towards radical elements. It is more worried about its vote bank.   

How do you think BJP will perform in Karnataka? Will it be able to retain the seats it won in 2019? 

I am 100% confident that the BJP will do well. The people of Karnataka are aware of the Modi government’s performance and the work that has gone into making our country powerful. 

What according to you are the key issues on which the 2024 elections are being fought? 

The elections are about development of the country and welfare of four key sections of the society – garib (poor), yuva (youth), annadata (farmer) and nari shakti (women). This election is being fought between the tried, tested and trusted leadership of PM Modi and the confused alliance of the INDI parties, which do not have a leader, a vision or a track record.   

The BJP accuses Congress of appeasement over Muslim reservation. But Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has also promised it in Andhra Pradesh. 

The Congress has always resorted to appeasement and vote bank politics at the cost of others. In Karnataka, they have said that the entire population of Muslims and Christians is backward, thereby depriving communities coming under the other backward classes (OBCs) of their share. Is that fair? They can no more hoodwink the people.  

In the Prajwal Revanna sexual harassment case, the Congress says BJP knew about the wrongdoings beforehand. How do you handle this accusation?

The situation has to be handled by the state government – the ruling Congress, not the Opposition BJP. It has become fashionable for the Congress to fail and then point fingers at others.