BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday hit out at the BJP leaders protesting against the Congress leaders who criticised Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for giving permission to prosecute him in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case.
“The leaders of BJP Karnataka, who can’t answer our questions about the wrongful actions of Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, are now playing the ‘Dalit card’. This is an insult to the self-respecting Dalit community,” the Chief Minister stated taking to ‘X’. Siddaramaiah questioned if the BJP leaders truly respect and admire Thaawarchand Gehlot, who belongs to the Dalit community, why did “they turn him into a ‘caged parrot’ instead of keeping him in the Union Cabinet? “
“By stripping him of his ministerial role and using a Dalit leader as a pawn in your vendetta against political opponents, aren’t you committing a grave injustice and insult to the Dalit community?” the Chief Minister questioned.
The Chief Minister said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had appointed Bangaru Laxman, a leader from the Dalit community, as the BJP national president. But the leaders within the BJP couldn’t tolerate that and falsely accused him of corruption, leading to his untimely demise, he said and asked the BJP to take a lesson from how Congress senior leaders treat AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who also belongs to the Dalit community, with the utmost respect and dignity.