Congress Vs Congress over RSS anthem in Assembly: B K Hariprasad demands apology from D K Sivakumar

Congress MLC B K Hariprasad questioned who Shivakumar was trying to please by reciting the song linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation "banned thrice in independent India".

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Congress MLC B K Hariprasad on Monday demanded an apology from Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for singing the RSS anthem in the state Assembly and asked whom he was trying to please.

However, Minister H C Mahadevappa said singing the RSS anthem does not mean Shivakumar "is joining the BJP".

Hariprasad questioned who Shivakumar was trying to please by reciting the song linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation "banned thrice in independent India".

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, the MLC claimed, "No one will object if he sings the RSS anthem as deputy chief minister because the government does not belong to a party but to seven crore people of Karnataka—RSS, Jamat-e-Islami, Talibanis, and various others. But he is not supposed to sing it as the Congress state president".

Shivakumar took everyone by surprise on August 21 by singing the RSS anthem during a discussion in the state Assembly on the stampede near Chinnaswamy stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 people.

"If he sings as Congress state president, then he must apologise. It’s not proper to sing the prayer of an organisation that killed Mahatma Gandhi," Hariprasad alleged.

Taking a swipe at Shivakumar, he alleged, "He has many faces—a farmer, quarry owner, educationist, businessman, industrialist, politician. He may be this one also (RSS worker)." Hariprasad stressed that Congress members cannot compromise on party ideology and maintained that any association with the RSS was "not proper".

Karnataka Social Welfare Minister Mahadevappa and Mysuru MLA Tanveer Sait claimed that singing the RSS anthem in the Assembly does not mean Shivakumar "is joining the BJP." Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Mahadevappa claimed, "He (Shivakumar) has only asserted that he too is a Hindu. Congress will continue to fight against that (RSS) ideology. Those who support secularism, democracy, and the Constitution will oppose it (RSS)." He further added that one should "condemn religious extremism and any organisation, including the RSS, that is harmful to democracy, the Constitution, and the majority of the country".

Tanveer Sait said, "Just because Shivakumar sang the RSS anthem does not mean he is in favour of the BJP." Shivakumar himself has said he was a "born Congress worker," he told reporters.

"We will not sacrifice our ideology, but I don’t find it wrong to understand others’ ideology," he added.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara declined to comment on the issue.