G Parameshwara, K S Eshwarappa engage in friendly fight

Two former deputy chief ministers --- G Parameshwara of the Congress and K S Eshwarappa of the BJP --- engaged in a rather friendly fight during a debate on the Constitution in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

During his speech, Parameshwara attacked the BJP for not fielding a single minority candidate, which he said defeated the very purpose of the Constitution that aimed at providing equal opportunity for all.

Eshwarappa, who is now RDPR minister, pointed out that he did not get a single Muslim vote since his first election from the Shimogga City constituency in 1989.

“But things are changing. In 2018, I did get a fraction of the minority votes in the constituency,” Eshwarappa said.

Slyly, Parameshwara reminded the BJP leader of his previous statement that for a Muslim to get a ticket, one will have to sweep the floor of the BJP’s headquarters for five years.

“Yes, I did say that. All BJP MLAs have either swept the floors or spread out blankets for our leaders to sleep,” Eshwarappa said.

Parameshwara appeared to be on a roll with his sarcasm. “Which part of the BJP office did the 16 (turncoat) legislators sweep? Please tell us,” he said.

“When I say sweeping the floor, it doesn’t mean that literally. The newly inducted legislators will definitely be used for party work,” the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister said.