Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that his singing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthem in the state assembly was a message to the BJP.
According to Shivakumar, he is a born Congressman but has done research on all political parties.
"I am a born Congressman... I have done research on all political parties. I know how RSS is building institutions in Karnataka... They are acquiring all the schools in every district. They are trying to preach to children. As a leader, I should know who my opponents are and who my friends are,” he told news agency ANI.
DK Shivakumar said that he and the RSS have many political differences, but the BJP should know that he has gone deep.
“I just try to know about the RSS and its history... Politically, we have a lot of differences. But the BJP should know I have gone very deep into them,” he said.
DK Shivakumar recited the RSS anthem in the Karnataka assembly
DK Shivakumar recited the RSS anthem while addressing the Assembly on Thursday. A video being widely circulated online shows him singing ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume’ as he stood in the state assembly while addressing the house.
{{/usCountry}}DK Shivakumar recited the RSS anthem while addressing the Assembly on Thursday. A video being widely circulated online shows him singing ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume’ as he stood in the state assembly while addressing the house.
{{/usCountry}}The clip, which is going viral on social media platforms, has surprised many. The exchange began as Shivakumar, responding to the opposition, asserted his comprehensive knowledge and skills, despite not being “groomed" in the opposition’s political arena.
BJP’s Leader of Opposition R Ashoka took a jibe at Shivakumar, reminding him of a past claim he had made about wearing RSS shorts during his school days. This pointed remark was based on a previous revelation by Shivakumar that he had attended an RSS ‘shakha’ in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar neighbourhood as a boy.
Without hesitation, DK Shivakumar immediately countered Ashoka’s taunt by singing the opening lines of the RSS anthem, “Namaste sada vatsale matrubhume tvaya hindubhime…" This act instantly silenced the assembly and caused a ripple of surprise across the floor.