Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that Dravidians were the original inhabitants of the country and he belonged to their sect.
He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the Congress party office here.
Commenting on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s challenge, asking Siddaramaiah to specify whether he was a Dravidian or Aryan, he said, “I had said that Aryans had come from Central Asia thousands of years ago and became Indians by living here. But I belong to Dravidian sect. What is wrong in that?"
To BJP leaders’ question about the origin of Congress leaders, he said, “Sonia Gandhi is from Italy. After getting married to Rajiv Gandhi, she has become a citizen of India. Are not our people getting citizenship in England and other countries," he asked.
“When I was the chief minister, people of Kuruba community submitted a petition seeking ST tag. An organisation in Mysuru was entrusted with the task to conduct a study on their lineage. But no report was submitted. Former minister K S Eshwarappa took out a padayatra, urging to include Kurubas in ST community. Now, BJP is in power in the state and the Centre and can consider their demand,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Minister S T Somashekar said statements of Siddaramaiah do not have any value.
“Let him study and understand the RSS programmes. We will give him necessary books and will take him to the RSS office,” he said.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks