'Don't want to hurt anyone': DK Shivakumar apologises for reciting RSS prayer in Karnataka Assembly

'I recited two lines of the RSS' prayer on honouring the motherland. It was cut and pasted, spread widely', Shivakumar said.

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday offered an apology for reciting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) prayer in the Assembly while maintaining that it was not a mistake and slamming his detractors for questioning his loyalty toward Congress.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone. My life is to serve others, not hurt feelings,” Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Congress president, told a news conference.

“To all Congressmen, party workers and political friends from the INDI Alliance who may be hurt...if you feel I’ve made a mistake, which I have not, I’m ready to apologise and seek your guidance,” Shivakumar said.

On August 21, during a debate on the June 4 Chinnaswamy stadium stampede, Shivakumar broke into the RSS’ prayer Namaste Sada Vatsale upon a slight provocation by Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka.

“I recited two lines of the RSS' prayer on honouring the motherland. It was cut and pasted, spread widely. I wanted to pull the BJP's leg by telling them that I'm aware of their ideology,” Shivakumar said, adding that he has researched all political parties. “It's my duty to track what my political opponents are doing.”

Shivakumar’s readiness to apologise came a day after he received criticism from senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad. The MLC said Shivakumar should apologise if he chanted the RSS’ prayer in his capacity as Congress president and wondered if he was trying to “impress someone” by his act in the Assembly.

“By birth I'm a Congressman. I'll die a Congressman. That's been my politics. I stand committed to this,” Shivakumar said. “Anybody questioning my loyalty is a big fool.”

Shivakumar said he is overseeing the construction of 100 new Congress offices in Karnataka to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s party presidency. “I’ve said that party offices are like temples. That’s my commitment. No one can come close to what I’ve done at my age,” he said.

He said he has been associated with Congress since 1979-80 when he was a student leader. “I don't need lessons from anyone. When Indira Gandhi died, I named my touring talkies after her,” he said. “The relationship I have with the Gandhi family is akin to the one between a deity and a devotee. I’ve been doing my politics under the Gandhi family's blessings, sacrifices and administration,” he added.

Shivakumar recalled safeguarding party lawmakers from Maharashtra (2002) to help Vilasrao Deshmukh and from Gujarat (2017) to ensure Ahmed Patel’s election to Rajya Sabha.

“There were 400 cases filed against 77 family members. ED, CBI, IT...all sorts of cases. I was arrested,” Shivakumar said. “What happened to the ED case in which I went to Tihar jail? The Supreme Court dismissed the case,” he said. “I didn’t even have a chair to sit on in jail. There was a 10x10 bathroom. I slept on the floor. Ate the jail food. Only I know what I went through,” he said.

Shivakumar said he believes in all religions. “But I’m not ready to give up my religion. I’m a born Hindu,” he said.