Renowned Kannada novelist SL Bhyrappa slammed the opposition parties in the country for creating a negative mood by constantly attacking the Narendra Modi government.
Speaking at a literary function here on Saturday evening, the nonagenarian said the Opposition was even raising doubts on the country's armed forces when it came to surgical strikes (on terror camps across the border with Pakistan), while their secularism was nothing but "casteist politics".
"The Opposition does not say anything positive. It is trying to create a negative mood in the country. Instead of appreciating surgical strikes, the Opposition demands proof. It raises questions about our defence forces," he said at the function organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, Maharashtra Pradesh and Thane's Samanvay Pratishtan.
"Abrogation of Article 370 (which ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir) was the best thing to have happened in the country. But the Opposition fails to acknowledge good things that are happening currently," he said, adding there was scope to write a novel like his famed 'Tantu' on current happenings but this could be done only 30 to 40 years later and that too by some other author.
Replying to a question, Bhyrappa said "people who are talking about secularism are casteist in their approach".
"We see caste politics in most states, excepting Gujarat where there's absolutely no caste politics. That's why there is progress in Gujarat, and it was possible for an ordinary person like Narendra Modi to become chief minister for three terms," he said.
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (90) is a Sahitya Akademic Award winner, has been bestowed with the Padma Shri, and his 24 novels in a career spanning over five decades have been highly appreciated for their themes that fuse history and fiction.
