The Karnataka government’s recent announcement of an Anti-Communal Task Force has ignited a heated political debate, with Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta leading the charge against Home Minister G Parameshwara. Chowta lambasted the move, comparing it to the controversial Communal Violence Bill once proposed by Sonia Gandhi, accusing it of being a veiled attack on the Hindu community.

“This task force reeks of the same appeasement politics. It will be fiercely opposed if thrust upon us,” Chowta declared. He also expressed displeasure over Parameshwara’s Mangaluru visit related to the Suhas Shetty case, accusing the minister of bypassing local elected representatives. “This isn’t the India of the Congress era. Hindus won’t be silenced by such policy masquerades anymore,” he said. Labeling the issue as a confrontation between nationalism and fundamentalism, Chowta stressed the need for a firm and precedent-setting response to threats within and beyond India’s borders.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also cast doubt on the viability of the proposed task force. CPM Dakshina Kannada district secretary Muneer Katipalla called it a “practically difficult” measure, warning that combating communalism requires more than just police intervention. “This issue is deeply rooted in the social and cultural fabric. Mere announcements won’t suffice,” he noted, citing the failure of the Congress government’s earlier plan to set up an Anti-Moral Policing Wing.

As political tensions rise, the task force proposal has triggered fresh discourse on the government’s ability to manage communal challenges.