Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a scathing statement on Thursday, criticising State BJP president B Y Vijayendra for his remarks suggesting who the Congress Party should project as its prime ministerial candidate.
Taking a jibe at Vijayendra, the chief minister remarked that Vijayendra has failed to secure his position within his party, blaming this on ignorance, arrogance, self-deception, and a misplaced sense of entitlement.
Siddaramaiah reminded him that RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has already indicated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impending retirement, as he nears 75, and pointed out this as a golden moment for the BJP to name a Dalit prime minister. He urged Vijayendra to take that lead.
“Rather than giving sermons, you (Vijayendra) should name a Dalit leader—like Govind Karjol or Chalavadi Narayanaswamy—as BJP’s prime ministerial face,” Siddaramaiah said, asserting he would be the first to appreciate such a move by Vijayendra.
He further demanded that Vijayendra show true commitment to Dalits and backward communities by resigning as the state BJP president and handing over the role to a Dalit leader.
Siddaramaiah’s sharp critique was in reply to Vijayendra’s recent statements ridiculing the two-day AICC OBC conclave in Bengaluru and challenging the Congress to name AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge as its PM candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Referring to Vijayendra’s media briefing, the CM proposed the name of Govind Karjol, a Dalit leader and BJP MP from Chitradurga.
He vouched for Karjol’s integrity and challenged the BJP to appoint him as state president and announce him as their chief ministerial face in Karnataka if they truly believe in empowerment.
But the CM also voiced doubt, saying the BJP’s trend is to exploit Dalit leaders to attack rivals while denying them substantial authority or dignity within their ranks.
He also confronted Vijayendra over the party’s inability to shield Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy from casteist insult, asking why Vijayendra and his father did not carry the ‘basket of Chaddis’ instead of making a Dalit leader bear that indignity. “I’ve repeatedly raised this issue, but you still haven’t answered it,” he added.
Pointing out the BJP’s contradictions, the CM noted the party boasts about making A P J Abdul Kalam president, but has no Muslim MP in the current Lok Sabha. He questioned why no Muslim candidates were given tickets in the last parliamentary election.