Tejasvi Surya has a record of making problematic and controversial statements. On Wednesday, the BJP MP from Bengaluru South went a step further. In an openly Hindu supremacist remark, Tejasvi Surya said that the state power should be controlled by Hindus in India. Implying that currently, India is being controlled by Hindu power, the MP said that this ‘regaining’ of Hindu power is what has made the construction of Ram temple possible in Ayodhya.
Taking to Twitter, Tejasvi Surya said, “Dear Hindus, Most important lesson is that control of State power by Hindus is absolutely essential for sustenance of Dharma. When we didn’t control State, we lost our temple. When we regained, we rebuilt. The 282 in 2014 & 303 in 2019 to Sri @narendramodi made today possible!” (sic)
The Indian Union, as per the Constitution is secular, unlike countries that have a state religion – like Pakistan and Bangladesh. An elected legislator openly declaring that Hindu power controls India today is extremely problematic, say critics. Further, the building of the Ram temple was made possible by a Supreme Court order on the Ayodhya dispute – so is Tejasvi Surya openly suggesting that the Supreme Court is controlled by Hindus in power, they ask.
Tejasvi’s tweet has got more than 8,000 retweets and more than 34,000 likes at the time of writing.
Prakash Belawadi, a prominent actor and activist criticised the MP for this tweet. He said, “This is dangerous identity politics. Bigotry in a private space is an ethical and social issue, and in a democracy, it's hard to resolve it with law. But this is a public representative talking in a public space. That is the problem.”
Former Lokayukta and retired Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde also criticised the statement by Tejasvi Surya.
“When we have introduced the word ‘secular’ in our Constitution, it can never be the policy of the government to propagate one religion. Nor should we say that the policy of one religion be the policy of the government. When these lines get blurred, it is a very sad state of affairs.”
@rashtrapatibhvn @VPSecretariat Please note that @Tejasvi_Surya with this tweet has broken his oath to protect the idea of India as per the oath he took on the sacred Indian Constitution. As per the oath you took to protect India’s Constitution you must suspend this man as MP.
— Leo Saldanha (@leofsaldanha) August 5, 2020
Speaking with TNM, Leo Saldhana said, "The Constitution speaks for syncretism, because of which we can be whoever we are in our private lives and respect each other in public life. Surya's tweet appears to contradict this foundational Constitutional ethos.”
Saldhana suggested as a private individual Surya could have said this but it is not acceptable that he is using his political office and power to promote bigotry and sectarianism.
But just like on Twitter, Tejasvi Surya has supporters on the ground as well, who believe that Tejasvi’s remarks are the opposite of ‘apologia’. Laxmy Iyengar, a senior advocate, is of the opinion that there is nothing wrong with Tejasvi’s tweet and said Hindus need not be apologetic for following their religion. “The key word here is 'dharma'. What is conveyed is that to adhere to the path of righteousness and achieve what is promised, a massive majority is required. It is the consensus arrived at post judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court that paved the way for the building of the temple at the earliest.”