Shivakumar apologised over RSS prayer song to remain in power, say BJP, JD(S)

Bengaluru, Aug 26 (PTI) Targeting Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for apologising for reciting a couple of lines from the RSS prayer song in the Assembly, opposition BJP and JD(S) dubbed it a "cowardly act", aimed at remaining in power, and to prove his loyalty to the Gandhi family.

The BJP said Shivakumar should have apologised when Pakistan Zindabad slogans were raised in the Vidhana Soudha premises, rather than apologising for singing a prayer that teaches patriotism.

"D K Shivakumar has apologised for singing RSS prayer under some pressure. It is tragic. Instead of becoming loyal to the Gandhi family, you (Shivakumar) should first become a Desha Bhakta (patriot). Sangh's prayer teaches patriotism. It is tragic that you have forgotten patriotism to be seen as loyal to Gandhi family," state BJP general secretary and MLA Sunil Kumar told reporters here.

Noting that Shivakumar, during the previous session, had said he was earlier associated with the RSS and had attended 'Vittal Shakha' in Bengaluru, Kumar asked, "will the Congress object to this too?" "D K Shivakumar should have apologised -- when Pakistan Zindabad slogans were raised in the Vidhana Soudha premises, when Satish Jarkiholi (now minister) had said that the word 'Hindu' is Persian and has a very dirty meaning. There was no need for Shivakumar to apologise for reciting RSS prayer," he said.

Shivakumar has apologised under pressure for the sake of power. "There was panic in the Congress just for reciting two lines. I don't know what would have happened if he had recited the complete prayer," he further said.

Apparently stung by criticism from within the Congress party, Shivakumar on Tuesday said he was sorry if anyone was hurt over his rendition of the RSS prayer song "Namaste Sada Vatsale..." in the state assembly and asserted that he was a Congressman and would die as one.

Shivakumar, also the state Congress president, had taken everyone by surprise by singing a couple of lines of the song on the floor of the House last week, during a debate on the June 4 Chinnaswamy stadium stampede.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, asked if saying "Namaste Sada Vatsale Maatrubhoome" - a humble salutation to Mother India - requires an apology, then who exactly does the Congress party expect Indians to hail? "Mother Italy? Or the Madam who came from Italy?" Noting that, on one hand, Congress defends those who shout "Pakistan Zindabad" in the Vidhana Soudha, while on the other, they vilify those who show reverence to Bharat Mata, he asked in a post on 'X', "What else can we call this, if not a Deshdrohi mindset?" Ashoka wanted to know who exactly asked Shivakumar to apologise. "If Shivakumar had even an ounce of self-respect or courage, he would never have apologised. If the pressure was unbearable, he should have resigned from the Congress without hesitation." "This is the tragedy of our times: leaders so intoxicated by power that they are willing to surrender the very soil that gave them birth - all just to cling to a chair," he added.

JD(S) claimed that Shivakumar apologised for "fear of expulsion".

The party, in a post on 'X', described Shivakumar as "a tiger in the Assembly and a mouse before the (Congress) high command".

Claiming that Shivakumar was a "coward" who apologised to save his chair and avoid expulsion, the JD(S) further said, "A minister from the Nayaka (ST) community (K N Rajanna) was sacked from the cabinet without giving an opportunity to apologise. The Congress high command has one justice for Dalits and another for those who are powerful." PTI KSU KH