BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader and MLC BK Hariprasad said on Monday that as state Congress President, DK Shivakumar cannot sing the RSS anthem in the Assembly, and if he does so, he has to apologise. Hariprasad said they have no objection if Shivakumar, as the Deputy Chief Minister, sings the RSS anthem, as the government is for everyone and not limited to any party. “However, he cannot do so as the state Congress president; if he had done so as Congress president, he has to apologise,” he said.
Hariprasad said it is not correct to sing the anthem of the organisation that was banned thrice and was involved in the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. Shivakumar claims to be an agriculturist, educationist, businessman, and industrialist, the Congress MLC said. “We don’t know what message he is trying to send. We don’t know who he is trying to impress by signing the RSS anthem,” the Congress MLC said. Hariprasad said he has seen Shivakumar since his student days.
Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Minister Satish Jarkiholi ridiculed Shivakumar for singing the RSS anthem inside the Assembly instead of giving a timely reply to the proceedings. Speaking to reporters in Yadgir, Satish quipped, “If singing an RSS song is the criterion to become the CM, then even I and MLA Channareddy Patil are ready to sing it.”
On the controversy surrounding Mahesh Thimarodi, who had allegedly criticised BJP leader BL Santhosh, Satish said the remark was made in a particular context and should not be misinterpreted.
He also said that any change in state politics is solely the decision of the high command and not of any individual here.