Spurned, Muthatlik to contest as Independent

Two days after his “momentary stint” in the BJP, Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik on Tuesday announced that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections from Dharwad constituency as an Independent candidate.

 “I am also thinking of contesting from Bangalore South constituency where H N Ananth Kumar is the BJP candidate,” a miffed Muthalik told mediapersons here on Tuesday.

Muthalik, who was shown the door from the BJP hours after he was admitted into the party, blamed Ananth Kumar, the National General Secretary of BJP for his ouster. 

“Ananth Kumar does not want other leaders to grow. Sri Rama Sene workers are urging me to contest against him. The BJP leaders have not only insulted me but also the Hindus and the people of Dharwad constituency,” he said, adding that he would file nominations in Dharwad on Wednesday.

BJP leaders differ

Meanwhile, two prominent leaders of the BJP have differed on the decision to induct Pramod Muthalik into the party. While former deputy chief minister K S Eshwarappa defended the decision stating that central leadership need not be consulted on certain issues such as inducting local leaders, party National General Secretary H N Ananth Kumar said the State unit had erred.

Speaking at a programme in the party office in Bangalore on Tuesday, Eshwarappa said, “We (State unit) took the decision on Pramod Muthalik. However, the State unit is bound by the directions of the central leadership and there ends the matter,” he said. However, Ananth Kumar, speaking at another event, said that the State BJP had taken a wrong decision and the central leadership intervened to rectify it.

Governor’s take

Governor H R Bhardwaj, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the International Women’s Day in Bangalore, said that it was unfortunate that the man accused in the Mangalore pub attack case had forayed into politics.

“The 2009 Mangalore pub attack took place when I was just appointed the Governor of Karnataka. Muthalik was one of the accused in the incident and was jailed for some time. Should such people enter politics?” the governor wondered.