Only paid tribute to Rani Abbakka: Karnataka Minister Parameshwara denies attending ABVP event

He asserts that no one can question his ideological commitment to Congress

Facing heat for stopping by at an event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday asserted his allegiance to the Congress and said he was a true Congressman and would die as one.

Responding to a question on the controversy surrounding his attendance at an event organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's student wing for Rani Abbakka at Tiptur in Tumakuru district, he said he only paid floral tributes to her statue during a procession. "We respect everybody who fought for independence," he said.

Rani Abbakka was a Tuluva queen of Ullal, in present-day Dakshina Kannada district, who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century.

"I did not attend any ABVP event. While I was on my way, a procession of Rani Abbakka was going on. Our local MLA (from Tiptur) Shadakshari was with me. I was told to offer floral tributes to Rani Abbakka's procession. I stopped my car, offered flowers and came back. That's all. I did not attend the ABVP programme or anything," Parameshwara said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "If anyone still wants to make a controversy out of it, let them. I don't have a problem."

He asserted that no one could question his ideological commitment. "My ideological commitment to the Congress is unquestionable," the Home Minister said.

"I'm a true Congressman, I will die as a Congressman. There will be political adversaries to me, like others have; they may be within the party or outside. They may be making an issue out of it. Won't people understand such cheap tricks? Everyone in the State knows what Dr Parameshwara is, and everyone is aware of my politics for the last 35 years. I don't have to prove it again and again," he added.

This comes days after Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar created a flutter by singing the RSS anthem in the Legislative Assembly. Facing criticism from within the party, he subsequently apologised.