BENGALURU: Energy Minister D K Shivakumar attended his first public rally on Wednesday after the Income-Tax raids last week. Taking part in the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement at Freedom Park here, Shivakumar said that he had been caught in the grip of an eclipse and had been now released from it.
“I know what happened and what ‘operations’ have taken place, but I would not like to comment on it here. When I was in trouble, all the senior leaders including AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other leaders supported me and stood by me. I am not after posts, ministerial posts come and go and I was a minister even during Bangarappa’s time and have faced elections as early as 1985. I am not hankering after any posts,” he said.
Shivakumar also appreciated the Gujarat MLAs he hosted for several days at Eagleton Resort and said the BJP’s efforts to poach the MLAs were effectively thwarted.Siddaramaiah flayed BJP saying Mann Ki Baat did not fill the hunger of the people, and the party lacked an ideology and was interested only in promoting ideas of Hindu rashtra and Ayodhya temple.
KPCC president G Parameshwara said that assaults on Muslims and Dalits were happening all over the country and it was essential to fight this trend. “We have to save the democratic fabric of this country. Today, our party leader’s car is attacked and our workers are being killed. Should we keep quiet? It is time to fight this through elections,” he said. All the party leaders hailed Ahmed Patel’s victory in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha election, which had triggered much drama not only in the run up to the elections, but also during voting and after.Earlier in the day, party leaders led a procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park to commemorate the Quit India movement.