Goyal seeks Cong apology over MP's remarks, Kharge says party will not tolerate division of India
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday sought an apology from the Congress for the controversial statement by party MP that suggested a call for a separate south nation over fiscal injustice, but the opposition party's president said it stands for a united nation and will not tolerate any such call.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha when it met for the day, Goyal said the statement by D K Suresh, who is the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, reflects the "divisive" thinking of the Congress party.
The Congress has in the past divided the nation and the latest statement is an example of the same thinking of the party, he said.
Goyal, who is minister for commerce and industry, said even for fighting an election an oath of affirmation to the Constitution of India is required. After being elected, MPs have to take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and that of upholding sovereignty and integrity of the country, he added.
Without naming Suresh, he said the statement cannot be ignored as it is an attack on the Constitution of India and an insult to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The statement, he said, was made on a day when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was presenting the interim Budget that lays a roadmap for a developed India by 2047.
"The Congress president should clarify if the party is associated with the statement. (He should also state if) the country's sovereignty and integrity and its Constitution hold any place in the mindset of the Congress. (And that) does the party want to divide the country into north and south?," he said.
"The country will not tolerate this divisive approach of the Congress. I condemn the Congress party and its leaders and demand that they apologise for the statement."
Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Suresh is not a member of Rajya Sabha and, therefore, his conduct cannot be debated in the House.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, however, said his earlier rulings had made it clear that the statement by a Lok Sabha MP can be discussed in the Upper House.
"Congress leaders have given sacrifices for the country," he said, adding the MP in question has clarified on TV that he did not state what is being reported.
"If he has said anything, the matter should be looked into by the privileges committee (of Lok Sabha)," Kharge said.
"We will not tolerate any statement that calls for breaking the country. That statement may be from any party... be it from my party or their (BJP) party, or somebody else. Someone says or not, I Mallikarjun Kharge, will state that India is one from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and will remain one. It is for this cause that Indira Gandhi gave the supreme sacrifice of her life and Rajiv Gandhi gave his life. Can such a party talk of breaking the country? We will not tolerate such a thing."
It is not correct to repeat in the House what Suresh has not said, he added.
Goyal had read out the English translation of the statement Suresh made in Kannada on Thursday.
The MP from Bengaluru Rural constituency had purportedly stated that southern states are not receiving their dues as taxes collected from them are being distributed in north. The southern states, he purportedly said, would be forced to demand a separate nation if the injustice was not rectified.
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BJP slams Cong over internal quota for SCs, alleges injustice done to several communities
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday attacked the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning the intent behind the revised quota formula.
Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MP Govind Karjol criticised the government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing it of delay, dilution of quota, and lack of commitment to social justice.
The Cabinet on Friday cleared a revised internal reservation formula for Scheduled Castes within the overall 15 per cent quota, paving the way for long-pending government recruitment.
The Cabinet approved 5.25 per cent reservation each for the "right-hand groups" and "left-hand groups", and about 4.5 per cent for other Scheduled Castes, including nomadic communities.
"The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has committed a historic betrayal and stabbed the Scheduled Castes in the back," Vijayendra said.
In a post on 'X', the Shikaripura MLA alleged that the government had delayed the distribution of reservation among Scheduled Castes for nearly two-and-a-half years despite a Supreme Court order, before classifying them into A, B and C categories in a Cabinet decision.
He said the previous BJP government had increased reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, but the present dispensation had reduced allocations.
"The quota for Category 'A' has been reduced from 6 per cent to 5.25 per cent and for Category 'B' from 5.5 per cent to 5.25 per cent, thereby causing grave injustice," he said, adding that allocations meant for several communities had been merged into Category 'C' and reduced to 4.5 per cent.
"Instead of the justifiable 5.5 per cent, the quota has been reduced to 4.5 per cent- amounting to a betrayal of these communities as well," he said.
He further claimed that despite there being no stay order, the state government had filed an affidavit agreeing to reduce reservation from 17 per cent to 15 per cent.
"As a result, the Scheduled Caste reservation has been brought down from 17 per cent to 15 per cent," he said.
Alleging inaction on employment, Vijayendra said the government had wasted two-and-a-half years of valuable time in the name of internal reservation despite lakhs of vacancies, and termed the recent recruitment assurance as misleading.
He added that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar will pay a price for the alleged injustice.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Karjol questioned the internal reservation mechanism adopted by the Cabinet.
The former Deputy Chief Minister said the Justice H N Nagamohan Das committee had recommended 17 per cent internal reservation and the government had reduced it to 15 per cent.
He questioned whether repeated assertions on social justice and equitable distribution were mere rhetoric, and accused the chief minister of misleading the public to retain power.
Terming the decision "arbitrary justice", Karjol said, "There were the Sadashivayya report, the Justice H N Nagamohan Das report, and even the Cabinet sub-committee report under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. There was also a Supreme Court order. Ignoring all of these, the government has delivered arbitrary justice."
He maintained that the previous BJP government had increased reservation scientifically to 17 per cent based on a report by then Law Minister J C Madhuswamy, and alleged that, despite promises made in 2013 and after returning to power in 2023, Siddaramaiah had failed to implement internal reservation.
Accusing the chief minister of attempting to create divisions among SC sub-castes and pushing the issue into courts, Karjol urged him to stop this deception.
