Congress party is an ocean: D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Jan 26: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar today likened the Congress to an ocean and said individual exits do not make any difference to the party.

Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office here, he said, “Congress party is an ocean. It stays unaffected irrespective of anyone joining or leaving. There are many people who are looking forward to join the Congress party too.”

“Jagadish Shettar had joined the Congress after his disillusionment with the internal affairs of the BJP. He had even made big accusations against the BJP. We had accommodated him as an MLC in spite of his loss by 35,000 votes in the last assembly elections. Despite BJP trying to establish contact with him for the last 2-3 months, Shettar was determined to stay in the party till a couple of days before,” he said.

“We had accommodated him with a long-term view. Congress party leaders and workers from Belagavi district are happy about his exit. The MLC seat which is vacated after his exit will be given to a loyal party worker,” he added.

Constitution is Sacred
Wishing the people of the state the 76th Republic Day, he said, “Constitution authored by Dr B R Ambedkar is a sacred document. It is the responsibility of the Congress party to uphold its sanctity. The history of Congress is the history of India. Only Congress party can take all sections of the society together. There are many discussions in the media about India bloc. We will fight the elections together.”

Q&A
JDS and Kumaraswamy are BJP spokespersons
Asked if the Congress party will take in only those who come on the basis of ideology, he said, “Anything can happen in politics. We had supported the JDS to keep the BJP away. But today he has joined hands with the BJP, which brought down his government. Both JDS and Kumaraswamy are working as spokespersons of the BJP today. Everyone knows the language Kumaraswamy used against the BJP when his government was brought down. Today’s politics is shameful. Power comes and goes but we need to do clean politics.”

Lakshman Savadi will not leave
Replying to reporters’ query about his meeting with Lakshman Savadi, he said, “Savadi is a senior Congress leader and an asset for the party. He said he came on his own to the Congress and he would love to work with the Congress party.”

Asked about BJP’s attempts to lure Lakshman Savadi, Mr Shivakumar said, “BJP is not sparing anyone, they are trying to lure everyone. We are aware of it. If we wanted, we could have done a lot too.”

When pointed out BJP leader Sunil Kumar’s comments that the party was trying to bring back all those believe in its ideology, he said, “The BJP took in more than a dozen MLAs to form a government, what ideology did they have? Do they all follow the party ideology?”

Referring to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge’s comments that the party should induct only those who are aligned with the party ideology, he said, “We will certainly follow the instructions of our senior leaders.”

High Command will respond to K N Rajanna
Asked about Congress Minister K N Rajanna’s comments that he was not a slave of the Congress High Command, Mr Shivakumar said, “The party has taken serious note of his comments. The Chief minister has also responded to it. AICC too has taken note of it. He is a party MLA and a Cabinet minister, the Chief Minister will answer this appropriately.”

To a question that many Congress MLAs are in touch with the BJP, he retorted, “Shall I give you the long list of BJP MLAs being in touch with the Congress party?”

Responding to a reporter who asked if the BJP would try to bring down the Congress government in the State post the Lok Sabha elections, he said, “The BJP may be in that situation post the elections. I don’t think anything will happen to the Congress government.”

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