KALABURAGI: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar on Tuesday clarified that the Congress is not opposed to the plan to introduce lessons from the Bhagwad Gita in school curriculum. “In fact, the Congress was responsible for telecasting the Ramayana and Mahabharat serials across the country when the party was in power at the Centre,” he said at a press conference here.
He said to show people the moral of the Ramayana and the Mahabharat, the Congress ensured the telecast of the epics and the entire country was enthralled. “What the BJP government is doing now is nothing but copying the Congress. Let them introduce the Gita in schools. This is a secular country and the Bible and Quran should also be included as the message of all religious texts is the same,” he said.
When his attention was drawn on the demand of G-23 to free the Congress from the Gandhi family, Shivakumar said all leaders of the party, except a few, are loyal to the Gandhi family. “If there is no Gandhi family, there is no Congress,” he said.
The KPCC president said it is a known fact that AICC chief Sonia Gandhi rejected becoming Prime Minister and instead selected Manmohan Singh for the country’s top post twice. “The so-called G-23 leaders enjoyed power though Sonai and Rahul opted not to be part of the government. Where were they at that time?” he questioned. As far as he is concerned, he is grateful to Sonia and Rahul as they stood with him when he was facing a crisis, Shivakumar said.
He also flayed the BJP government for increasing the petrol price immediately after the elections to five States. The people voted for the BJP keeping faith in it, but it betrayed the voters, he said. Shivakumar demanded that the Karnataka government protect people by providing subsidies.
On the opposition to the Mekedatu project by the Tamil Nadu Government, Shivakumar said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has claimed in the Assembly that he will meet the Union Water Resources Minister and, if necessary, will take a delegation of all parties to New Delhi to get clearance for the project. The “double engine” government should keep its promise, he said.