Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar slam Shettar for re-joining BJP

Bengaluru, Jan 25: After former Chief Minster and Congress MLC Jagadish Shettar re-joined BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Thursday that Congress party has not done any injustice to Shettar.

Speaking to reporters in Virajpet, Siddaramaiah said, "Shettar had told me that he was humiliated in BJP and won’t join the party again. We have given him a ticket to contest the election. Even after defeat, we made him a MLC.”

Commenting on the issue, Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar stated in Bengaluru that Shettar had told yesterday (Wednesday) that he won’t join the BJP party. “I do not know why he joined the BJP today. I also do not know about the pressure on him. It is left to his conscience.”

Shettar had confided that he was forced to re-join BJP through constituency leaders and workers. “Shettar had claimed that Congress had given him a new lease of life and he would never join BJP. Believing in his words, I had told the media that he won’t join the BJP. I got to know about Shettar joining BJP through the media,” Shivakumar explained.

"The party had dealt with him respectfully since he was a senior leader. Shettar had issued statements against BJP regarding the Ram Mandir and other issues. I do not know whether any pressure tactic is used to pull him,” he said.

Shivakumar explained that, Shettar is claiming that he is joining BJP in the interest of the country. When he was denied a ticket to assembly elections, was he not aware of the interest of the country? When he was appointed as Congress MLC, was he not aware of the national interest? Shivakumar questioned.

“I will not see him as a man from Sangh Parivar. If he was to be one, he wouldn’t have quit BJP. He is a politician,” Shivakumar said. “I don’t know why Shettar had joined the BJP. But, no other leader will join BJP. The voters had rejected him by 35,000 votes in assembly elections and even after that we gave him an MLC post. The rest is left to his conscience and people,” Shivakumar maintained.

Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil stated in Bengaluru that the act of Shettar will not suit his dignity. “His decision is incorrect and a hasty decision should not have been made to quit the Congress party. The people will think that he came to Congress seeking power.

“After Parliamentary elections, he had a good opportunity. He was a former CM and LoP and why this hurried decision? We don’t know under which pressure or lure he made the decision to re-join BJP. If it is for the lure, then it is unfortunate,” he stated.