BENGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar on Sunday admonished those in the party who idolise leaders, saying it should not be done at the cost of the party.
At a Congress membership drive at Bengaluru Palace Grounds, Shivakumar urged those chanting “DK, DK” before he rose to speak to keep up the enthusiasm till the 2023 Assembly elections. As the chants grew louder, he said individuals and leaders may come and go, but the party will live on. “Workers should not raise slogans hailing a person. They should put the party first,” he added.
On the occasion, which also celebrated the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, party national General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Nehru was not just the country’s first Prime Minister, but also a freedom fighter who spent over nine-and-a-half years in prison for fighting against the British. The Constitution was important for him and not the religious backgrounds of people.”
Assembly Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said Nehru loved children as he believed that it was only the children and youth who can transform the nation. He also recalled how Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam and Subhash Chandra Bose spent several years in prison.
Later in the evening, Siddarmaiah, Surjewala, AICC Secretary Raminder Singh Ola, Council opposition leader SR Patil, senior leader Allum Veerabhadrappa, KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre, former minister Priyank Kharge and others participated in the Hyderabad-Karnataka division leaders’ meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the party in those parts.