During the recent executive meeting in Bangalore, a nostalgic L K Advani recounted how his party opened its account way back in 1967 in the state. If the BJP in Karnataka is said to have emerged out of a template created entirely by the Sangh Parivar, the first elected Bharatiya Jana Sangh representative in the state, V S Acharya, is symptomatic of the dilemmas facing the BJP in power.

Said to be overtly sympathetic to Hindu organisations, Acharya is now the Home Minister in the B S Yeddyudarpa Government.

“Acharya is just not fit to become Home Minister. The continuing attacks on the churches are the handiwork of the Sangh Parivar,” said H T Sangliana, who was the BJP’s only Christian MP before he was expelled recently. Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik had also expressed concern over the role of Sangh Parivar affiliates in the state after the killing of Swami Laxmananand Saraswati.

The Sangh Parivar, however, holds movements like “New Life” and “Pentacostal” squarely responsible for communal clashes in Karnataka. The Chief Minister, too, had initially cited “conversions” as the reason for the clashes. With the continuing cycle of violence, Yeddyuarppa, however, told The Indian Express: “No one will be allowed to take law in their hands.”

A sizable section of the BJP, represented by general secretary Vinay Katiyar, continues to hold “conversions” responsible for the clashes in the state.

“Conversions led to all the problems in the state,” he said. Mutalik, Mahendra Kumar and others of their ilk have been parroting exactly the same line that has now pushed the state on the edge.