H.D. Kumaraswamy alleges that the RSS is marking the houses of those not contributing to the funds for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya in a manner similar to the Nazis

H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Speaking at a press conference in Shivamogga yesterday, former Chief Minister of Karnataka H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its affiliates, who are on a fund-collection drive for the construction of the proposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya, were marking the houses of those who have not come forth to donate. He used a provocative analogy to make his point.

On February 15, he posted this on Twitter: “It appears that those collecting donations for the construction of Ram Mandir have been separately marking the houses of those who paid money and those who did not. This is similar to what Nazis did in Germany during the regime of Hitler when lakhs of people lost their lives.”

This scathing statement by Kumaraswamy comes just a week after after his party joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to elect Basavaraj Horatti, veteran JD (S) councillor, as chairman of the Legislative Council. The first decision that the Council took after Horatti’s elevation was to pass the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Ordinance, 2021, by a voice vote. Last year, the JD (S) had again joined hands with the BJP in the Legislative Council, where the saffron party does not have a majority on its own, to pass contentious land reform laws in the State after assuring a farmer’s delegation that it would not support the law.

This “blow hot and cold” approach of the JD (S) when it comes to the BJP has led political commentators to describe the party, which is struggling to retain its political relevance in the State, as “a party with no ideological values”.