Siddaramaiah draws flak from JD(S), BJP over objectionable remark
Bengaluru, Aug 31: Senior Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah has stoked a row with an objectionable remark apparently directed at the Janata Dal (Secular), his party's ally in the previous coalition government, though he later claimed that he had only used a common Kannada adage and referred to the BJP.
At Periyapatna in Mysuru on Friday evening, when reporters asked him why the JD(S) leaders were blaming him for the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Siddaramaiah used the Kannada adage that literally translates to "Incapable of dancing, a prostitute called the dance floor uneven".
The remark left the JD(S) fuming, with its national general secretary and spokesperson Ramesh Babu saying it reflects Siddaramaiah's frustration.
The BJP too condemned Siddaramaiah's remark, saying it reflected his party's culture.
As the matter escalated into a full-blown controversy, Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he was referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party, adding that the Kannada adage he used was very common among people.
"Being a former chief minister, the language he uses is highly improper and very low level. That is the culture of Siddaramaiah and his party," BJP spokesperson S Prakash said.
On Saturday, Siddaramaiah told reporters at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district: "I was referring to the BJP. It is a very common adage in the rural areas around Mysuru. Those who cannot run the government call the floor uneven."
Hitting out at him, Babu said, "Siddaramaiah's statement in Mysuru reflects on his conduct. If a leader loses control over his language, it shows his frustration.
"JD(S) is like paradise for those who love it. It doesn't affect it if someone makes a hue and cry against it. It is fact that during the coalition government both Congress and the JD(S) had danced together," he tweeted.
The Congress-JD(S) government collapsed on July 22 after the confidence motion moved by the then-Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was defeated in the Assembly, bringing to an end his 14-month-long turbulent tenure marked by dissidence within the Congress.
Siddaramaiah had come under criticism after the government collapsed as most of the rebel Congress MLAs, including S T Somashekar, Byrathi Basavaraj, M T B Nagaraj, Munirathna and K Sudhakar, were considered his loyalists.
However, rubbishing claims that he instigated those MLAs to resign and destabilise the government, Siddaramaiah had alleged that the unilateral style of functioning of the JD(S) leadership led to the collapse of the government.
Days after a verbal duel with JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, who had led the coalition government, Siddaramaiah had recently said that the BJP was their opponent, and not the JD(S).
"We are the principal opposition party. Our opponent is the communal BJP and not the JD(S). We have no grudge against the JD(S) leaders", he had said.
"For secular forces, the communal forces are their rivals and not the other secular force," Siddaramaiah added.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
