Bengaluru, Oct 22 — Dalit leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday demanded that Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge resign, taking moral responsibility for the alleged insult to three Dalit ministers during the Mysuru Dasara and Jamboo Savari celebrations.
They accused the state government of failing to uphold protocol and security arrangements and alleged that the incident had humiliated the ministers.
Addressing a press conference at the JDS headquarters, JP Bhavan in Bengaluru, former legislators K. Annadani, Ashwin Kumar, Nisarga Narayanaswamy, Srinivasa Murthy and Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy alleged that lapses in protocol and security had led to the police obstructing and insulting Dalit ministers Narendra Swamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi and K.S. Basavanthappa.
The former legislators said the Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, frequently invoked the Constitution and spoke about secularism and social equality. However, they alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka had deliberately humiliated Dalit ministers during the Mysuru Dasara and Jamboo Savari celebrations.
Former T. Narasipur MLA Ashwin Kumar questioned whether the police had acted on the instructions of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. He said the Chief Minister, who was walking ahead when the police stopped the Dalit ministers, should have intervened to prevent the incident. His failure to do so had caused them considerable anguish, he added.
Ashwin Kumar demanded that Priyank Kharge accept moral responsibility for the incident and resign as Home Minister.
Former MLA and JDS state president for the Scheduled Caste category, K. Annadani, strongly criticised the alleged sting operation targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, describing it as a black mark on Karnataka.
Referring to reports about the sting operation circulating in the media and on social media, Annadani questioned the government's response and alleged that an electronic media journalist had claimed responsibility for conducting the sting.
He questioned why the police had not registered a suo motu case against a private Kannada channel owner, while allegedly initiating such cases in other instances involving relatively minor offences.
He also asked what AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge was doing and whether he was unaware of an alleged sting operation targeting a former Chief Minister of the Congress party.
Annadani alleged that the government had failed to arrest the person accused of conducting the sting operation. "Perhaps the government itself has been stung. That may be why the Home Minister is silent," he remarked.
He also accused Priyank Kharge of diverting attention from the allegations raised by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy regarding the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) scam.
Annadani said Kumaraswamy had submitted several documents in support of his allegations and challenged the Home Minister to respond to them instead of changing the subject.
Addressing Priyank Kharge, he said he had become a minister twice by invoking his father's political legacy and alleged that he had benefited from the representation given to the Dalit community. He said the minister should answer the documents presented by Kumaraswamy, irrespective of his attire or command of English.
Annadani further questioned what Priyank Kharge had done to understand the difficulties faced by Dalits and challenged him to identify the Dalit households where he had stayed to understand their problems. He contrasted this with Kumaraswamy, whom he said had stayed in a Dalit household within a week of becoming Chief Minister to understand the community's concerns.
He also questioned why Priyank Kharge, who had enjoyed political power for years in Kalaburagi district, had not made way for another Dalit leader to become a minister.
Annadani credited former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy with introducing initiatives such as the Ganga Kalyana scheme and reservation in zilla panchayats and taluk panchayats.
He also cited Deve Gowda's role in appointing a Dalit youth as zilla panchayat president in Hassan and said several Dalit leaders, including himself, Nisarga Narayanaswamy, Ashwin Kumar and Srinivasa Murthy, had entered the Assembly with the support of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy.
Questioning Priyank Kharge's criticism of Kumaraswamy, Annadani also referred to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust controversy and asked why the minister had agreed to return land associated with the matter, alleging that the decision raised questions about his moral authority to criticise others.
Annadani alleged that the sting operation was intended to damage Siddaramaiah's political career and undermine his image as a leader associated with the AHINDA social coalition of minorities, backward classes and Dalits.
He also criticised the Congress over its historical treatment of B.R. Ambedkar, alleging that Jawaharlal Nehru had worked against Ambedkar's electoral prospects and that the Congress had repeatedly defeated him in elections. Annadani accused the party of treating Dalits primarily as a vote bank rather than genuinely advancing their interests.
Former Devanahalli MLA Nisarga Narayanaswamy also criticised Priyank Kharge, accusing him of using the Dalit identity for political purposes while failing to provide opportunities to other leaders from the community.
He questioned why other Dalit leaders, including Anekal Shivanna and Bangarpet Narayanaswamy, had not been given ministerial positions despite Mallikarjun Kharge having served twice as a minister in Karnataka and subsequently becoming AICC president.
Nisarga Narayanaswamy alleged that the Kharge family had prioritised the political advancement of its own members at the expense of other Dalit leaders and asked whether such an approach was justified.
Former Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy and former Nelamangala MLA Srinivasa Murthy, among others, were present at the press conference.