Minister Ashwath Narayan, Cong MP almost come to blows at public event in CM Bommai's presence
Ramanagara, Jan 3: Karnataka Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and state's lone Congress Lok Sabha member representing Bangalore Rural D K Suresh, almost came to blows in full public view at an event in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai here on Monday.
The government event was to unveil the statues of B R Ambedkar and Bengaluru founder Kempegowda, here.
This was also Bommai's first visit to the district as the Chief Minister.
In what seemed like a veiled attack on Congress leaders, Narayan made an aggressive speech targeting opponents.
He claimed that the present BJP government was here to win the trust of the people and not to betray them, and challenged others to prove their work, as he attacked those who allegedly tried to disturb the event by raising certain slogans.
This apparently enraged Suresh, and the MP, who was visibly angry making certain gestures, barged towards Narayan.
Security personnel and some dignitaries on the stage including Health Minister K Sudhakar intervened and separated the two.
Suresh, the younger brother of state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, was joined by Congress MLC S Ravi, who tried to snatch the mike that was used by Narayan, resulting in a melee, as the Minister forcefully grabbed the mike back from him.
Suresh and other Congress leaders subsequently sat down on the stage in protest.
Amid the protest, Bommai, addressing the gathering, said individual egos should not come in the way of respecting icons like Ambedkar and Kempegowda.
Pointing out that he has come to Ramanagara for the first time as CM, he said, "I have come here to contribute to development. The development will happen with everybody's cooperation and not by one individual....let's all work together for development...."
Suresh, who spoke later, said he would only apologize to the Chief Minister for what happened and not to anyone else, and attacked Narayan in his speech.
"Are you challenging us on the stage? fix the time....what culture is this? Did RSS teach this?.....Don't talk about our culture, we have culture. Mr Ashwath Narayan, we need not learn from you," he said.
As Suresh referred to RSS, BJP supporters among the audience objected to it.
Later, after the event, Congress workers tore up Narayan's posters as the mark of protest.
Bommai, later speaking to reporters, termed the incident as unfortunate and said it will in no way affect his government's commitment for the development of Ramanagara district.
"We should all work together for development....there is no need to create an atmosphere of election, much before the election," he said.
Stating that the incident is the best example to prove that Congress culture is "goonda culture", state BJP in a tweet, condemning it, said "it is ironic that an MP doesn't have the basic sense as to how to behave on the stage, where the Chief Minister is present."
Several BJP leaders including its state President Nalin Kumar Kateel and Narayan's cabinet colleagues condemned Suresh's conduct.
Meanwhile, jumping to his brother Suresh's defence, Congress President D K Shivakumar questioned Ashwath Narayan's relationship with Ramanagara. "What has he or BJP done for the district? It is sheer arrogance on part of the Minister."
Congress and JD(S) are major players in Vokkaliga dominated Ramanagara district, where BJP is attempting to make inroads.
Narayan, a Vokkaliga himself, who was earlier the in-charge Minister of Ramanagara, is at the forefront of BJP's attempts to make inroads into the district by taking on the 'DK brothers' (Shivakumar and Suresh), and today's incident is seen as a sequel to those efforts.
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita Kumaraswamy are also MLAs from the district.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
