Dinesh Gundu Rao supporters lay siege to KPCC office

Bengaluru: Protests intensified within the Karnataka Congress on Tuesday, August 4, as supporters of senior leader Dinesh Gundu Rao staged a demonstration outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office after he was denied a berth in Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s expanded Cabinet. The agitation added to the growing discontent within the ruling party following the Cabinet reshuffle.

Hundreds of Congress workers and supporters from Gandhinagar constituency gathered outside the KPCC office carrying placards reading “Justice for Loyalty” and raised slogans against the party high command. Protesters alleged that a loyal and experienced leader had been ignored despite his long service to the party.

The demonstration turned tense when a section of the agitating workers jumped over police barricades and attempted to enter the KPCC office premises, resulting in jostling with security personnel. The protesters demanded that the Congress leadership immediately reconsider its decision and induct Dinesh Gundu Rao into the Cabinet.

The demonstrators warned that they would submit mass resignations if the party failed to address their demand. They questioned the criteria adopted for selecting ministers, arguing that Dinesh Gundu Rao had maintained a clean image and delivered transparent governance during his previous tenure as a minister. “If there was no intention of accommodating him, the leadership should have informed us earlier,” the protesters said.

Members of the Archakas’ Association also joined the agitation, expressing disappointment that no representative from the Brahmin community had been included in the new Cabinet. They said at least one MLA from the community should have been given an opportunity and submitted a memorandum to the party leadership demanding fair representation.

Meanwhile, supporters of Vijayanagar MLA M. Krishnappa and Govindarajanagar MLA Priya Krishna also assembled outside the KPCC office to protest their exclusion from the ministry. Several block Congress presidents attended the demonstration wearing black badges as a mark of protest, while some party workers threatened to submit their resignations, further highlighting the growing unrest within the Karnataka Congress following the Cabinet expansion.