'Siddaramaiah losing wickets, DK Shivakumar becoming stronger': BJP adds fuel to fire amid Rajanna's sacking

Ashoka also slammed Congress for sacking Rajanna. 'He spoke the truth about the 'vote theft' charge. Congress couldn't digest the truth', he said.

Bengaluru: The BJP on Monday sympathised with Congress lawmaker K N Rajanna after he was sacked from the Cabinet, with Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka claiming that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was losing to his deputy DK Shivakumar in their power tussle.

"Wickets are falling in Siddaramaiah's team. Shivakumar is becoming stronger," Ashoka said, reacting to Rajanna's sacking.

"It was Shivakumar who got the 2015 social & educational survey (caste census) scrapped, which was Siddaramaiah's defeat. Now, Rajanna, who kept batting in favour of Siddaramaiah, has been sacked. Why was Rajanna sacked anyway?" Ashoka asked.

Ashoka also slammed Congress for sacking Rajanna. "He spoke the truth about the 'vote theft' charge. Congress couldn't digest the truth. By sacking Rajanna, the Congress has done injustice to the entire ST community," he said.

BJP state president BY Vijayendra accused the Congress of being "anti-Dalit, anti-ST, anti-democratic and anti-truth".

In a statement, Vijayendra said Rajanna was removed "for merely speaking the truth".

"...in Congress, truth is treated as a threat, especially when it comes from a leader of a marginalized community whose voice they have long tried to silence. The pattern is clear. In the case of ST Welfare Minister Nagendra, funds earmarked for the development of the community were siphoned off to finance Congress’ election expenses. Instead of holding Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar accountable, the blame was placed entirely on Nagendra, and the matter was quietly closed," Vijayendra said.

"Even when SC/ST MLAs and Ministers gather informally for a meal, the high command dictates that such meetings cannot happen without their physical presence, as though leaders from these communities cannot meet independently," Vijayendra said. "When leaders from these communities are targeted, (Siddaramaiah) does not defend them. Instead, he bows to the diktats of the Delhi High Command to safeguard his own position as CM," Vijayendra charged.