BELAGAVI: The Congress government in the state has come under fire from BJP leaders for allegedly turning the centenary programme of the historic Congress Plenary attended by Mahatma Gandhi into a partisan event, funded by taxpayer money.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, former CM and BJP leader Jagadish Shettar accused the Congress of misusing the occasion to promote its party. “The Congress of today is vastly different from the Congress of pre-independence India. This event, meant to honour Mahatma Gandhi, has been transformed into a gathering of ‘fake Gandhis’ to showcase party achievements,” Shettar alleged.
He criticised the state government for sidelining the historical significance of the event. “The Congress session of 1924, attended by Mahatma Gandhi, should have been celebrated in a non-partisan manner. However, apart from a few portraits of Gandhi, the event prominently displayed Congress leaders, making it evident that this is a Congress party programme, not a tribute to Gandhi,” he added.
BJP MLA Abhay Patil echoed Shettar’s criticism, revealing that he had earlier proposed a grand celebration of the centenary session, including requests for Rs 250 crore from the central government and Rs 500 crore from the state government to develop historical sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi.
“At that time, the Congress did not show any interest. Now, they have excluded local MLAs and MPs and turned this into a party event,” he said.
The BJP boycotted the unveiling of a Gandhi statue near the Golden Temple, citing protocol violations. Local officials and elected representatives were reportedly not invited to the event.
“The state government did not submit a proposal to the Centre for the centenary programme and failed to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This reflects their intent to turn a government programme into a party campaign, using crores of taxpayers’ money,” Patil alleged.
The BJP leaders accused the Congress government of exploiting public resources for political gains while sidelining bipartisan contributions and historical significance.