‘Did the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly join the Congress for their livelihood?’
Objecting to the remarks on Dalits by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah, who had said that Dalit leaders had left the Congress and joined the BJP for livelihood, BJP’s state unit spokesperson and Sedam MLA Rajkumar Patil Telkur questioned whether the parties had changed parties for their livelihood in the past.
“Mr. Siddaramaiah’s words are insulting not only the Dalits, but also the Constitution drafted by Dr. BR Ambedkar. Politicians change parties, as Mr. Siddaramaiah himself did, for better positions in the society. To serve and not for livelihood. Changing party is the right of every politician,” Mr. Telkur said at a press conference here recently.
Mr Siddaramaiah had recently said at an election rally in Sindgi that Dalits have left the Congress and joined the BJP to secure their livelihood.
Mr. Telkur also said that the Congress had humiliated Dr. Ambedkar by defeating him in the election and not allowing him to perform independently as a law minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet.
“Dr. Ambedkar was humiliated by the Congress. He was defeated by the Congress in the election. He was not allowed to work independently as a law minister. The Congress continues to display anti-Ambedkar and anti-Dalit attitudes even today. The Congress, which has been considering Dalits, minorities and poor sections as its vote bank, does not need to teach us a lesson to respect these oppressed and marginalized communities,” Mr. Telkur said of the Congress designs to Dalits. Called to be aware.
State vice-president of BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha, Ambaraya Ashtagi, warned that if Siddaramaiah did not apologize, he would intensify the agitation across the state.
“We have already staged a statewide agitation condemning Mr Siddaramaiah’s remarks. If he does not publicly apologize, we will intensify the protest. Mr. Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister only six years after joining the Congress. He did this by sidelining all Dalit leaders including Congress veteran M. Mallikarjun Kharge. He ensured the defeat of Dalit leader G Parameshwara in the 2013 assembly elections to clear his way for the chief minister’s post. Taking Dalits lightly and considering them as their vote bank without doing anything for the development of the Dalit community has become a norm in the Congress. This attitude towards Dalits in Congress is prompting Dalit leaders to join other political parties,” Mr. Ashtagi said.
BJP MLA from Gulbarga Rural Basavaraj Mattimadu and others were present.