Karnataka Congress issues show-cause notice to Roshan Baig over outbursts
Bengaluru, May 21: The Congress issued a show-cause notice to senior leader and Karnataka legislator R Roshan Baig on Tuesday for his outbursts against the party leadership.
The party has taken strong exception to Baig's comments against former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and party state president Dinesh Gundu Rao.
The remarks are being taken seriously as an "anti-party activity", the notice said, asking him to explain within a week why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"On failing to reply further disciplinary action will be taken against you," the notice, signed by state Congress general secretary V Y Ghorpade, said.
On Monday, Baig had hit out at the Congress leaders for the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls as projected in the exit polls a day ago. The MLA had held Siddaramaiah's "arrogance" and Rao's "immaturity" responsible for the "flop show". He had also called Venugopal, who is in charge of the party affairs in the state, a "buffoon".
"By making statements to media and causing discomfort to the party and expressing your displeasure publicly through the media, you have conducted yourself by going against the party's principles. Your conduct has dented party's prestige," it added.
As the exit polls gave a clear-cut edge to the National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha election, the senior Congress leader had dropped hints of quitting the party and appealed to the Muslims to "compromise" with the situation if the alliance returns to power.
Baig had earlier, too, expressed displeasure against the Congress leadership for not being included in the cabinet, headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
His outbursts has come at a time when another senior MLA, Ramesh Jarkiholi, who is hobnobbing with the Bharatiya Janata Party, had threatened to quit the Congress along with other MLAs "soon".
Even the BJP has predicted that the ruling JDS-Congress coalition would collapse after the Lok Sabha polls. It had claimed that 20-odd Congress MLAs were unhappy with the government and might take any decision after the results on Thursday.
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BJP’s ‘Saugat-e-Modi’ campaign mocked on social media for Eid outreach
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Morcha’s recently launched Saugat-e-Modi campaign, aimed at distributing special Eid kits to 32 lakh underprivileged Muslim families across the country, has sparked reactions online, with many mocking the initiative as an attempt at political appeasement.
The campaign, launched in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area under the guidance of BJP National President JP Nadda, aims to distribute food and clothing kits through 32,000 Minority Morcha workers in collaboration with 32,000 mosques. The initiative has been positioned as an outreach effort ahead of Eid, Good Friday, Easter, Nauruz, and other festivals, with Eid Milan celebrations also planned at the district level.
While BJP leaders, including Minority Morcha National President Jamal Siddiqui, have described the initiative as a way to promote welfare schemes among the Muslim community, social media users have taken a different view. The campaign has been met with ridicule online, with many questioning BJP’s stance on minority appeasement.
A widely shared post read, "Moye Moye for BJP IT Cell 😂😂" mocking the party’s digital outreach. Others sarcastically questioned how BJP supporters would justify the campaign. One user asked, "How will Mr Sinha, Bagree, BALA defend this appeasement politics?"—naming online figures often associated with pro-BJP narratives.
Another post highlighted the contrast between BJP’s usual rhetoric and the new initiative, stating, "BJP launches ‘Saugat-e-Modi’ campaign in Bihar to reach out to Muslims. 32 lakh Muslims will get an Eid Bonanza as part of this drive!" Some users pointed out the irony, accusing the party of adopting vote-bank politics while previously criticizing other parties for similar strategies.
