Why Are Hindu Votes for BJP Labelled Communalism?: Tejasvi Surya

He is unapologetic about his far right view and he believes Modi critics are anti-India – Meet Tejasvi Surya, the BJP’s candidate from Bengaluru South.

A practising lawyer at the Karnataka High Court, an RSS swayamsevak, the general secretary of the state for Yuva morcha and also a part of the national social media team of the BJP, Surya takes on Congress’ BK Hariprasad in one of the most conservative constituencies in Bengaluru.

The Quint caught up with him for an interview ahead of the Lok Sabha election, and here’s what he said.

When your announcement was made, there were two things that went viral, one was your ‘OMG’ tweet and second, was a speech you had made earlier, in which you said, ‘if you are not with Modi, you are not with India’. Do you still stand by that?

That speech was made in a different context where I had said the opposition to Narendra Modi is completely fine in a democracy, but if such opposition to political leaders takes the shape of an opposition to the country, and people start making statements which help the enemy countries of our motherland, that is something dangerous.

So, in that context I said if you are with Modi, you are with India, and if you are opposing Modi and your opposition is reaching levels of opposition to India, then you are definitely anti-India and anti-Modi.

One of your tweets that sparked controversy said you agree with Modi’s policies, except for reservations for women – which was later deleted. Are you against women in politics?

See, that tweet made in a different context five years ago, while replying to someone, when we were discussing the efficacy of reservation etc. The Opposition here in Bangalore South has nothing against me, so they have resorted to the old dirty trick of going back and, you know, mining my old tweets, trying to put it out of context and trying to score a political brownie point.

But after the Assembly elections you had also mentioned that the BJP should be unapologetically a Hindu party. Does that mean during the campaign you will only go to the Hindus and not to the other communities?

I made that observation as a political activist, observing what had happened in the Jayanagar elections. I even put out the tweets there, which shows there was a complete polarisation of, you know, a certain community of votes in favour of the Congress.

If there is consolidation of Muslim votes in favour of Congress, it becomes secular votes, but if Hindus vote in favour of BJP, you call it communalisation of electorate. This double standard is what I was trying to question. That is it.

In your speech you have have always picked on dynastic politics. But the question everyone is asking is that your uncle is also an MLA, isn’t that dynastic politics?

Well, if I had asked for a corporator ticket under the constituency, where my uncle is an MLA, then that would have been dynastic politics. I have been recognised by no less than the prime minister and the party president, and he has given me this opportunity to contest.

My uncle had no role whatsoever in deciding this candidature. Until very recently, all those people who knew me and my work didn’t even know that there is an uncle who exists for me and he is an MLA. I’m self-made in that sense. I was given an opportunity, in spite of my uncle being a politician in the BJP.

Are you saying this political connection didn’t help you in any way to get into politics?

I was in BJP and ABVP and working for this ideology even before my uncle became the MLA. Therefore, I don’t think there is any role he has to play in the growth of my political career. Of course, other than being a big moral support like any other private citizen uncle would have been.

There is another question that has been raised often, considering fake news being a problem... you have been a lawyer for ‘postcard news’ – a controversial website. What is your take on that? It has been proven that they have been publishing fake news.

Which court proved that?

There have been fact-checks. You can disagree with them, but…

It is good that someone has done a fact check, then it is a good thing, then Postcard News should correct themselves. As far as me defending them is concerned, I would defend you as well if your freedom of expression is curtailed unreasonably, without any legal justification.

This is not a matter of Left or Right, it is about a constitutional principle, so if Postcard is… Postcard’s right to freedom of expression is curtailed then I will fight for it. But if Postcard puts out fake news, then their fake news should be called out. The answer to a bad book is a good book.

Recently you had issued law suits against multiple media houses as well. Isn’t that against the idea of freedom of speech?

I very specially added the word reasonable restrictions for freedom of expression when I answered your previous question as well. The Constitution of India balanced two rights – the freedom of expression of an individual and right to dignity and reputation of an individual.

If a few people want to maliciously, with sinister intent, want to malign you, then you have every recourse under the law, under the very Constitution, to protect your right to dignity and reputation. That cannot be called as infringement of freedom of expression, because it is the very same Constitution that provides you the recourse.