BENGALURU: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday attacked the Karnataka government and Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa for branding him a “Manuvadi” and accusing him of “ideological degeneration” after he urged the Centre to include the Bhagavad Gita in school curricula.
Dismissing the Congress leaders’ criticism with a reference to mythology, Kumaraswamy said, “I follow Krishna-tattva, the philosophy of Lord Krishna. The Congress party believes in Kamsa-tattva, the ideology of the tyrannical Kamsa. I stand for Krishna’s eternal wisdom, not the violence of Kamsa.”
The former Karnataka CM, who recently wrote to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, requesting inclusion of the Bhagavad Gita in the school syllabus, questioned what exactly the Karnataka government and Mahadevappa would teach children.
“Those who call me a Manuvadi and speak of ideological downfall – let them first tell the country what they intend to teach schoolchildren,” Kumaraswamy said in a strongly worded media statement.
Defending the relevance of the Gita, Kumaraswamy described it as “the light of the world, the lamp of righteous conduct, and the great essence of ideals”. He suggested that Mahadevappa appeared unfamiliar with the Gita’s teachings, and reminded the minister that even constitutionally elected representatives in India take the oath in the name of God or their parents – a practice rooted in sanmarga or the righteous path.
Kumaraswamy asserted that Indian politics itself stands on the foundation of Krishna-tattva. “War, politics, knowledge, governance, and human relationships — the Bhagavad Gita remains the eternal guiding light. Krishna’s teachings are universal and timeless,” he said.
He also advised Congress leaders to read not just the Constitution and speak of democracy, but also the Bhagavad Gita. “I have never said — nor will I ever say — that the Gita should not be read,” he clarified.
The issue has reignited the debate over introducing ancient Indian scriptures in modern education, with the Congress accusing the BJP and its allies of pushing a “saffron agenda”.