Eviction row: Is Cong leader Venugopal 'super CM' of K'taka, asks state BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): Accusing Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal of intervening in Karnataka's administration in light of an eviction row here, opposition BJP on Sunday asked whether he is "super CM" of the state.
Karnataka deserves respect, autonomy, and honest governance, and not high-command "theatrics", Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assembly R Ashoka said.
"Karnataka is not a colony of Rahul Gandhi and his coterie."
He was responding to Venugopal's post on 'X' regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in Kogilu village.
Stating that he has spoken to CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, Venugopal in the social media post on Saturday had said, he had conveyed "the AICC's serious concern that such actions should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the centre."
"They have assured that they will personally engage with the affected families, put in place an appropriate mechanism for addressing grievances, and ensure rehabilitation and relief for those impacted," Venugopal added.
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Venugopal's statement came in the wake of Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan criticising the demolition drive as the "brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj".
LoP Ashoka asked, "Who is K C Venugopal to intervene in the administration of Karnataka. Is he a Super CM, or does the Congress high command believe elected state governments function on Delhi diktats."
Karnataka is governed by a constitutionally elected chief minister and Cabinet, not by an AICC General Secretary, he said. Expressing a party opinion is one thing, but issuing moral sermons and pressure tactics on a state government is "blatant overreach" and an insult to federalism, the BJP leader added.
"What's more troubling is the rank hypocrisy. Has K C Venugopal ever shown the same urgency when medical and other waste from Kerala have been illegally dumped along Karnataka's borders, threatening Bandipur, forest regions, public health, and wildlife? Has he spoken up for Karnataka's environment, farmers, or border districts with the same concern and compassion," he asked.
"Silence there. Sermons here."
Stating that this selective outrage exposes the truth, Ashoka said this is not about humanity or sensitivity, it's about Congress high command politics, Kerala appeasement, and election optics, especially when top party leader Priyanka Gandhi represents that state in the Lok Sabha.
"Karnataka's dignity, self-respect, and administrative authority cannot be compromised to please party managers sitting in Delhi. The people of this state did not vote for a remote control government," he said.
Humanitarian concerns must be addressed through law, due process, rehabilitation, and accountable state mechanisms and not through telephonic or social media instructions from party officials with no constitutional role, he added.
Following Vijayan's criticism, Shivakumar had shot back at the Communist veteran, asking him to take care of Kerala's affairs while Bengaluru will be managed by the incumbent government.
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Pawan Khera denied anticipatory bail in passport case: Cong stands up for senior member
New Delhi: The Congress party has stood by Pawan Khera, the Chairman of the party’s Media and Publicity Department, expressing confidence that regardless of hurdles like politics of threat and intimidation, justice would emerge victorious.
Khera was denied anticipatory bail by the Gauhati High Court on Friday in the case filed against him by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma for alleging that she possessed not only multiple passports but also undisclosed properties abroad.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said in a post in Hindi on his ‘X’ account, “The entire Indian National Congress stands in solidarity with Pawan Khera, the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Department. The process to challenge the Gauhati High Court’s decision in the Supreme Court is underway.” In the post, which he put up on Friday, Ramesh has added, “We are confident that justice will prevail over the politics of threats, intimidation, and harassment.”
Bhuyan Sarma has lodged also an FIR seeking legal action against Pawan Khera for his allegations that she possesses passports of three countries and owns a company in the US, which had invested Rs. 50,000 crores. She has filed criminal cases against the Congress leader at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
