The tongue that showed non-cooperation to the Cooperation Minister
VB Editorial | August 14, 2025 |
There is a saying: “An old root and a new sprout make a beautiful tree.” In politics, senior leaders are expected to be those roots, deep, steady, and guiding the party through storms. Their long experience should strengthen the organisation, not weaken it. But in the Congress today, that very idea seems to have turned upside down. Instead of standing as pillars of strength, many seniors have turned into burdens, creating more embarrassment than support.
Take the case of S. M. Krishna. Once a towering figure who served as Chief Minister, Union Minister, and Governor, he left the Congress in his final years claiming neglect, only to end his career making bitter statements against the very party that gave him everything. Even after joining the BJP, he found no real honour. The same story played out with leaders like Pranab Mukherjee and Ghulam Nabi Azad, who used the Congress like a banana leaf, useful only until it was discarded. Now, Shashi Tharoor too seems to be leaning towards that path.
In contrast, Rahul Gandhi, despite facing ridicule and setbacks, has remained committed to the party’s ideology. With the Bharat Jodo Yatra and relentless campaigns, he has tried to inject new life into the organisation. While some seniors pull the party backwards, Rahul struggles to push it forward.
It is largely due to Rahul’s persistence that “vote theft” has become a subject of national debate. From Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra, from Karnataka to Bihar, he has highlighted the manipulation of electoral rolls and the complicity of the Election Commission. In Bihar especially, the scale of irregularities has alarmed the nation, with even the Supreme Court expressing concern. At such a crucial time, when democracy itself seems at risk, Congress leaders across states should be rallying behind him. Instead, Karnataka’s Cooperation Minister, Rajanna, chose to display his non-cooperation.
His loose remarks, questioning Rahul’s allegations, handed the BJP an unexpected weapon. The irony is sharp: at a moment when the opposition should have spoken in one voice, a minister from within broke ranks and weakened his own party. Rajanna’s statement has not only embarrassed Congress but also placed his own ministerial post on the chopping block.
Even if his intention was not to target the high command, Rajanna cannot claim ignorance of how his words would be twisted. When the very institution of the Election Commission is accused of undermining democracy, it was his duty as a minister to lend his voice to the struggle, not fuel the fire of dissent. Instead, he dug a pit for himself — and now finds BJP leaders stretching a false hand of sympathy to pull him out.
The opposition has predictably seized on his statement. Both Houses have witnessed heated arguments over whether Rajanna should be sacked, with BJP leaders crying hoarse that he has been made a scapegoat. Their hypocrisy is glaring. This is the same BJP that mercilessly silences its own leaders, MLAs, journalists, activists, and even police officers when they dare to speak the truth. Their newfound compassion for Rajanna is nothing more than political theatre.
At the same time, the episode raises questions about Congress’s internal democracy. Some argue that Rajanna’s freedom of speech should be respected. But freedom of speech inside a party cannot extend to giving ammunition to political opponents when the battle is over saving democracy itself. This is not the first time Rajanna has made remarks that hint at sympathy for the BJP. In the past, the party tolerated him. This time, however, his words struck directly at the high command, and at Rahul Gandhi’s fight against electoral fraud.
Rajanna’s rhetorical question, “What was the state government doing when irregularities were happening?”, might have been aimed at Karnataka Congress leaders. But its impact went far beyond, undermining the larger national struggle. Anyone with political maturity would know that the Centre can engineer manipulation through the Election Commission regardless of which party runs a state government. Bihar is proof enough.
Internal debates within a party are natural. But there is a time and place for everything. Rajanna chose the wrong time, wrong place, and wrong words. Whether his motive was carelessness or deliberate sabotage, the outcome is the same: he has damaged both himself and his party.
It is indeed unfortunate that another minister from the Valmiki community has had to step down. But in this case, Rajanna has no one else to blame. His fall came not from his opponents, not from the BJP, not even from the Congress high command, but from his own tongue.
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CM Siddaramaiah rebuts BJP's '63 per cent' corruption charge
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday refuted BJP leader R Ashoka's accusation regarding a judge's alleged remark about "63 per cent corruption" in the state, saying the opposition is "twisting facts" and attempting to shift blame from its own past tenure.
In a post on X, Siddaramaiah said the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly had “tried to hang the BJP’s bell of sins around the Congress government's necks and has ended up embarrassing himself” by misinterpreting the Upa Lokayukta’s comments.
"In the report submitted in November 2019, Honourable Upa Lokayukta B Veerappa had stated that there was 63 per cent corruption in the State. At the time he submitted the report, the BJP government led by Yediyurappa was in power in the State,” he clarified.
Countering Ashoka’s demand for a CBI probe, Siddaramaiah listed a series of scandals under the previous BJP government, saying corruption cases were "not just one or two".
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He accused the former regime of "shameless loot" even during the COVID crisis and said "a minimum 40 per cent commission was the norm across departments".
Referring to the death of contractor Santosh Patil, alleged irregularities in irrigation projects, the PSI recruitment scam and charges levelled by BJP MLC H Vishwanath against current state party president B Y Vijayendra, he said: “If we begin listing the scams from the BJP era, an entire epic volume could be written.”
Targetting the Centre, Siddaramaiah said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who proclaims “Na khaaoonga, na khaane doonga” (Neither shall I take kickbacks, nor allow others to take it), India was 'sinking into corruption'.
He cited Transparency International rankings that place the country 96th globally.
Dismissing Ashoka’s claims as “foolishness”, Siddaramaiah asserted that his administration was ensuring transparency in “recruitment to transfers”, preventing misuse of money and power.
“Mr R Ashoka, the monumental corruption you created cannot be cleaned up in just two and a half years,” the Chief Minister said. “Give us some time — we will set everything right.”
Ashoka demanded the transfer of all corruption cases against the Congress government in the state to the CBI, and called for its resignation.
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His demand comes following an alleged remark by Upalokayukta Justice B Veerappa that the level of corruption in Karnataka stood at '63 per cent'.
"We had fought against this corrupt government both inside and outside the assembly when the MUDA scam, Valmiki ST Development Corporation scam surfaced. At that time, CM Siddaramaiah repeatedly asked for evidence of corruption. As per our constitution, courts and judges hold big positions and what they say is regarded as order or a record," Ashoka, also the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said now a judge has stated that the government in Karnataka is "63 per cent corrupt".
"We-- BJP-- had made a 60 per cent commission charge against this government, but a judge has said it is not 60, it is 63 per cent. He (judge) said it at an event where he shared the stage with other judges and senior advocates. He has alleged that there is corruption in almost all departments, nothing happens without paying commission. Karnataka is in fifth position in corruption," he claimed.
At a public event on Wednesday, Justice Veerappa had claimed that the corruption in Kerala stood at 10 per cent, while it is 63 per cent in Karnataka.
He had said that he was able to witness it after becoming the Upalokayukta.
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Recalling that the Congress government, after coming to power, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the "40 per cent commission" charge it had made against the previous BJP government, Ashoka asked -- what probe will the government order, following the 63 per cent corruption allegation against it.
"If you have any shame left, resign and go... you formed SIT against us, constitute CBI probe on this (allegations against Congress govt), if you have guts, let the corruption in various departments come out in the open," he added.
According to the LoP, Karnataka has become an "ATM" for the Congress party to fund any state elections. Power goes to those who give more money to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
"For the recent Bihar elections, more than Rs 300 crore has gone from Karnataka itself. A breakfast meeting of Ministers was called to collect this money," he said, adding that Congress is synonymous with corruption, and corruption is Congress' home deity.
