Congress-led INDIA bloc will come to power and govern country: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, May 12: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday asserted that his party along with the INDIA bloc will come to power and govern the country in the days ahead, after the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
The state Congress chief also said that he and his party are not bothered by the BJP-JD(S) alliance continuing for the biennial election to six seats (three each from graduates' and teachers' constituencies) of the Karnataka Legislative Council on June 3.
"In my opinion, Congress party and the INDI Alliance will come to power. There is no chance for a BJP person to become the prime minister. This country will be governed under the leadership of the Congress party and the INDI Alliance hereon, we have that much confidence," Shivakumar said after a party meeting here.
He was responding to a question on AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's comments asking the BJP as to who will be its next prime minister as Narendra Modi will have to retire next year as he attains 75 years of age.
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Meeting of party leaders and office bearers were held today regarding Legislative Council polls to elect members from graduates and teachers constituencies. Directions have been given to everyone to actively participate in this election without leaving it on the candidates, and responsibilities have been fixed, Shivakumar said.
Instructions have been given to hold the MLC polls too unitedly, like it was done in the case of Assembly and Parliament polls, he said.
Asked about the JD(S) and BJP alliance continuing in the MLC polls too, the KPCC chief said, "Let them be together permanently, we don't have any objections. Let them do anything, we are not bothered."
The party today announced former MLC Marithibbe Gowda, who quit JD(S) recently, as the party's candidate from the South Teachers' Constituency.
The Congress had already announced candidates to other five segments: Ramoji Gowda (Bengaluru Graduates'), Chandrashekara B Patil (North East Graduates'), Ayanur Manjunath (South-West Graduates'), K K Manjunath (South West Teachers'), and D T Srinivas (South East Teachers').
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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.
