Bengaluru: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s jibe at regional parties during the concluding ceremony of ‘Chintan Shivir’ held at Udaipur in Rajasthan has not gone down well with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).
Rahul had stated that regional parties do not have ideological commitment, and also claimed that only Congress can defeat the BJP.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and state’s regional party JD-S’ second-in-command H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday came down heavily on the former Congress president, and said Rahul Gandhi should explain and make regional parties understand what he meant by the “ideological commitment”.
Kumaraswamy has ironically stated that, does he mean to say that ideological commitment is, bringing down I.K. Gujral government at the Centre in the pretext of alleged links between the DMK party and the LTTE in connection with the assassination of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and later, forging ties with the same DMK party from Tamil Nadu.
“Is it an ideological commitment to enjoy the fruits of power for 10 years during UPA government 1 and 2, with the DMK party under the Prime Ministership of Dr Manmohan Singh?” Kumaraswamy asked.
He further said Rahul Gandhi while claiming that only Congress can defeat BJP, should not forget that his party was in power for 10 years at the mercy and might of regional parties.
Kumaraswamy asked: “Is it an ideological commitment to join hands with unethical Operation Lotus in Karnataka underhand after coming to the doorsteps for formation of the government? Is it an ideological commitment to swallow the allies?
He was referring to the collapse of the JD-S and Congress alliance in the state in 2019.
Kumaraswamy further stated that Rahul Gandhi must understand for his benefit that Congress in Karnataka has reached the ‘coma stage’.
“The Congress which is under phobia of regional parties, has lost its presence in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha and other states,” he said.
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