Congress leaders advise Hariprasad not to air grouses outside party forum
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad's veiled dig at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to have created unease within the ruling party, with some senior leaders and ministers advising him to not to air his grouses outside, and instead take it up with party high command.
Industries Minister M B Patil, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and senior MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy, reminded Hariprasad about his seniority and experience in politics and tried to suggest that his statements were unbecoming of his stature.
"Hariprasad is a senior leader, he has to guide youngsters. He can speak with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Randeep Surjewala, KC Venugopal, directly. He has contacts, he can air his grouses with them. Speaking at other platforms is not right for his stature.
... It's not appropriate for him to speak like that in public. It's not good for the party, government and himself," Patil told reporters.
Stressing that nobody is above the party and should not cross the line, he said, "The party will be observing everything, including Hariprasad's statement and will take appropriate decisions."
Rao said, "... positions come and go, but speaking like that on a public platform is unacceptable."
Hariprasad damaged his own reputation, he said.
"He has to say what his grouse is. High command seems to have spoken to him now, and asked him not to indulge in such statements."
According to Rayareddy, Hariprasad should directly talk to the Congress high command about his disgruntlement.
"Hariprasad is a senior Congress leader, these days he seems to be upset. I don't know whether it is because he is not made Minister or he feels he is being sidelined, but his statements indicate that... He has direct contact with high command, including Sonia Gandhi, and can speak to them and get his issues resolved," he added.
In what is being seen as veiled attack against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Hariprasad on Saturday had said, some people wearing a Hublot watch along with a panche (dhoti) cannot claim to be a Samajwadi (socialist), and one cannot become Devraj Urs (former CM known for social reforms) by sitting in his car.
Though he did not take any names during his speech, it was quite apparent that the comments were directed at Siddaramaiah, considering the references he made to.
He also expressed his displeasure over a Dalit leader like G Parameshwara (now Home Minister) not being considered by the Congress for the CM's post and ST leader like Satish Jarkiholi for Deputy Chief Minister's post.
The MLC, who is said to be sulking for sometime now over not being inducted into Karnataka cabinet, had made these statements while speaking at a 'convention of like-minded most backward classes' like -- Ediga, Billava, Namdhari and Deevara among others.
However, Minister Priyank Kharge said, Hariprasad has not taken any names. He is a senior leader, and will speak to party leadership and resolve issues if any.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
