BENGALURU: Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan’s not-up-to-the-mark communication skills landed him in a fresh controversy on Tuesday.
Zameer’s opponents slammed him for saying Congress’ Bidar candidate Sagar Khandre, son of Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, won the Lok Sabha elections with Muslim support and he should bow before them. He later tried to control the damage, saying, “Sagar Khandre got six lakh votes and there are two lakh Muslim voters in Bidar. Obviously, he cannot win with just 2 lakh votes. What is wrong with my statement?’’
But the damage had already been done and Zameer and his team spent the entire day answering queries from the media and insisting that he was quoted out of context. But none from his team or Zameer had the courage to come before the media.
Some Congress leaders said, “Every time Zameer rises to speak, Congress loses ten votes.’’ Some others said his Kannada-speaking abilities are extremely poor and he should be given lessons in speaking in public in Kannada, to avoid further embarrassment to the party.
Sources said Zameer had meant to say that Muslims had voted for Congress and Congress’ elected representatives should serve them. But how he said it ended up offending the sensibilities of many, they added.
Eshwar Khandre told TNIE, “What Zameer has said is his own opinion and it is not the reflection of what the party thinks. We will serve all voters, no matter who they are and what community they belong to. It is our duty to serve everyone.’’
Well-known writer Devanur Mahadeva in an article spoke bitterly about the remarks of Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar and the Congress media department. He took them to task for calling litterateurs supporters of a political party.
With this, Congress appears to have lost the battle of communication on many fronts, not just on the issue of Zameer’s statements.