JD(S)-BJP alliance: Minister Priyank Kharge suggests dropping of 'secular' word from party name
Bengaluru: A day after the JD(S) officially joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), hitting out at their action minister for Rural development, Panchayat Raj and IT & BT Minister suggested that the JD(S) should write to the Election Commission of India to officially rename themselves from Janata Dal Secular to Janta Dal, dropping the term secular from its official name.
While addressing reporters here, Kharge expressed his opinion that the JD(S) should consider removing the term 'secular' from its name, following the party's alliance with the BJP, which he accused of being the "most communal party" in India's post-independence history.
He further explained that the JD(S) party’s decision to join the NDA was not unexpected, as it had become evident that the BJP's central leadership had lost faith in the state leadership following the elections in Karnataka.
In the meantime, Kharge assured that the Congress party will emerge victorious at the state’s Lok Sabha seats.
The Janata Dal Secular announced the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, officially joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
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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.
