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Stand by my remarks on Siddaramaiah: Cong leader amid controversy
Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad said he would stand by the statements he made on chief minister Siddaramaiah
Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad on Monday said he would stand by his alleged statements against chief minister Siddaramaiah and would not retract anything he said.
An alleged video of senior party leader and MLC BK Hariprasad expressing outrage allegedly against Siddaramaiah went viral on social media on Sunday.
In the purported video, Hariprasad speaking at a meeting of Ediga, Billava and Deeva leaders at a private hotel in Bengaluru, could be heard saying, “I know how to make CM and bring him down. I do not beg from anyone. I will stand with my chest. Becoming a minister is a different question.”
“Siddaramaiah belongs to the backward class. We gave support in 2013 because we wanted everyone to remain united,” the Congress MLC added.
After the statement became controversial, Harisprasad on Sunday said: “I don’t talk about resentment. However, I accept what I said on Friday as true. I will not take back a word that I have said. I will be bound by what I have said. It is not my word if I have not said it. Even so, I will be bound by my word if I have said it,” he said.
“I was called to a meeting on Friday. There were no cameras, and I spoke. If there were cameras, there would be no talking. We backwards people don’t notice that much. Someone has uploaded the video,” he added.
Agriculture and Mandya district in-charge minister N Chaluvarayaswamy clarified that there is no discontent about the chief minister within the party and emphasised the strength of the government.
“There is no displeasure about the chief minister. CM is strong. The government is also strong. Our party and government are proud to have given five guarantees,” he said.
While home minister Dr G. Parameshwara refrained from commenting on the issue, minister for law and parliamentary affairs HK Patil dismissed it as media exaggeration, stating that Hariprasad had not made such statements.
Senior leader and close associate of the Siddaramaiah, KJ George, said that the context in which Hariprasad made the statement is unclear. “He didn’t specify which chief minister. He could have been talking about the government’s other states also,” said George.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress secretary Varuna Mahesh released a video urging that Hariprasad be given a notice for his remarks against CM Siddaramaiah.
“The matter needs to be taken seriously,” he said.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted two video clips involving Hariprasad and said that the latter is challenging Siddaramaiah for not being considered for a ministerial berth in the southern state, which went to polls in May.
The BJP leader said, “After being overlooked for a ministerial position in Karnataka, MLC B K Hariprasad has taken on Siddaramaiah. He accused him of overlooking the interest of other backward communities (except his own), and urged Ediga, Billava, Namdhari and Deevara, to unite politically (presumably to cut Karnataka CM down to size).”
Malviya said after Rajasthan, which “lost five precious years because of the constant bickering between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot”, now the Congress leaders in Karnataka are fighting each other.
