Satish Babu, the software engineer with a pineapple as his symbol, who has decided to take on Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy and mining baron Janaradhana Reddy’s nephew, Lallesh Reddy, in the upcoming Assembly elections, from BTM constituency, said he is confident of capitalizing votes due to his campaign on judicial and societal reforms focused at empowering men.
The 32-year-old techie, who was allotted the pineapple symbol by the Election Commission, and is part of the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), an NGO that works for families in distress and in rehabilitating men who have been falsely accused of various crimes, started the hashtag #betakobhibacao as part of his social media campaigning.
“Politicians are always trying to appease some section (of society). This is divisive politics. Before they used caste and religion and now they use gender. It is very dangerous. They are trying to create a vote bank in the name of women empowerment. What we are saying, is beta ko bhi bachao (save the boy child as well). Children are children. It doesn’t matter,” said Babu, who believes that the law is being misused by several against innocent men.
One of the most important points highlighted in Babu’s election manifesto is to bring about strong reforms in the state’s police force. “Firstly, I want to cater to the emotional wellbeing of people, irrespective of their gender, and secondly I want to work on police reforms because that is where several men are getting harassed,” he said.
When asked about the type of reforms that he wished to bring about in the police force, Babu said that he would ensure that a written acknowledgement for every case is filed and a thorough investigation is conducted before an accused is incriminated. He added that he will pressure the police force to focus on crime rates rather than “bringing about settlements.”
“Even if a case reaches the judiciary, no one is accountable. The judge is not accountable, the police are not accountable. They don’t even give a written acknowledgment of the case being filed,” said Babu, adding that accountability would be his primary focus when it comes to the judiciary and police force.
Another avenue that Babu wants to focus on is ensuring that men are not victimized by false accusations and misuse of laws.
Taking a dig at the state Home Minister, he said, “Many of the issues that I have been highlighting; the judiciary, police and civic problems; all of it come under the Home Ministry. We want to send a message to the Home Ministry, asking them to please deal with issues of men as well.”
Vijay Sahu, a member of SIFF, the organization whose volunteers have been funding Babu’s election campaigning, said, “Men can’t report violence like women do. Our government does not recognize violence against men. Molestation and rape are being highly misused. It is to change this that Satish Babu has entered the elections.”
Babu, who has been actively working to uphold rights of men and promote gender equality, said, “Distressed men feel like they aren’t getting any help. Are there any help centers for men? No. What I am looking for, is to help everyone, irrespective of their gender. Politicians only speak about women empowerment; and in the name of women empowerment, men should not be treated like second-class citizens.”
Anil Kumar, co-founder, SIFF, said that Babu is a down-to-earth person who loves connecting with people. “There is a notion that software professionals do not care about society. We are creating an example against this view,” said Kumar. “Babu being a software professional is attempting to show people that professionals can make time to make a difference, despite odd working hours and tight schedules. He believes that his expertise in data science and artificial intelligence will help bring about a technological advancement to our governing systems,” he added.
Babu, who works at a multinational company in Bengaluru, and an alumnus of MS Engineering College, Sadahalli, feels that he can use his technological expertise for bettering society.
“Current technological advancements are not being implemented by the government in India. It stagnates (things) for years together. Court cases go on for seven, eight or even ten years. It’s ridiculous. Coming from a technological background, I know how data science works; how computerization and pushing artificial Intelligence can help and improvise judicial work, and quickly finish it,” he said.
Babu, who is the second of three siblings, born to an agriculturalist from Chintamani, sees the election as an opportunity to create policies that would facilitate a more efficient judiciary and police force.
But, unlike other candidates, campaigning has not been easy for him. He said that he is balancing his job with his political campaigning and will resign from his post if elected. “I campaigned on weekends and online. On other days, volunteers helped me with my campaigning,” he said.
– By Akshatha Jane
The author is a member of The NewsCart, a Bengaluru-based media startup.
