'I am elected, not selected': Priyank says on Kharge legacy

Bengaluru: In the line of BJP’s fire, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday slammed the saffron party for saying that he became a minister only because he was veteran Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge’s son.

The BJP has been gunning for Priyank's resignation in connection with the suicide of contractor Sachin Panchal whose death note mentions the minister's name. The BJP has taunted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that he lacks the courage fire Priyank from the Cabinet.

"I'm extremely proud of my father. I didn't apply to be born in this family. Why aren't BJP leaders proud about their fathers?" Priyank told a news conference. "Yes, I'm Mallikarjun Kharge's son. What are BJP leaders talking about when the someone who has never held a bat becomes ICC chairperson (Jay Shah)?" he said.

Priyank said he has faced four elections of which he won three. "Me, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna Byre Gowda...we've never denied the legacy of our fathers. There will be comparison. I can never match Mallikarjun Kharge's achievements. That doesn't mean I've done nothing. I'm elected, not selected," he said. "But if BJP leaders get elected, it means they've done a lot of work. But when we get elected, it's because we're selected. How did (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh's son get an election ticket?" he said.

Priyank also refuted the BJP's claim that Panchal's death note implicated him. "I haven't denied that my name figures in the death note. But in what way? It's about how he tried to meet me," he said, drawing a parallel with a note left behind by contractor Santosh Patil that led to the resignation of then RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa of the BJP. "Patil had clearly stated that Eshwarappa was responsible for his death. Has something like this been written about me in (Panchal's) note?" Priyank said.

Stating that he had sued BJP leaders such as P Rajeev, Captain Ganesh Karnik and Vijayendra for defamation, the minister said: "I've not received any response." Priyank also dared BJP to act against former minister Munirathna who has been charged with rape, voyeurism and attempting to spread dangerous disease.

Audio clip

At the news conference, Priyank played an audio clip in which he said BJP's defeated Chittapur candidate Manikanta Rathod is heard threatening the minister's family. "When a complaint was filed against this man who threatened to finish off my wife and kids, you (BJP) rewarded him when an election ticket," he said.