DK Shivakumar issues apology after row over reciting RSS anthem
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Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday tendered an apology after facing criticism from within his party for reciting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthem during a discussion in the state Assembly last week. Reiterating his unwavering loyalty to the Congress and the Gandhi family, Shivakumar said his intention had been misinterpreted.
Addressing a press conference, Shivakumar said he did not want to hurt the sentiments of any party member. “If anyone has been hurt, I feel sorry… I would like to seek an apology from all of them,” he said. He clarified that he had recited lines from the RSS anthem only to pull the leg of Leader of Opposition R Ashok during a debate on the stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. “My intention was not to praise them,” he insisted, adding that some people were making a “political leap out of it, trying to misuse it and create confusion.”
Shivakumar emphasised that his apology was voluntary and not given under pressure, noting that his objective was to send a message nationwide. “I was born a Congressman and will die a Congressman… My loyalty to the Gandhi family is like that of a devotee to God. Gandhi family is my God and I am their devotee,” he declared.
The remarks came after Karnataka Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi suggested that the matter should be brought to the notice of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Former minister K N Rajanna, who has been upset since his resignation from the Cabinet following the ‘vote chori’ controversy in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, commented that Shivakumar could get away with anything in the party. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, meanwhile, said the Congress high command would examine the issue. “You have to see the context. In what context he has said, the high command will examine. If there is nothing wrong with it, they will let him know,” he stated.
Shivakumar also took the opportunity to highlight his loyalty and service to the Congress party over the years, recalling how he endured hardships to keep legislators from being poached. He cited the instance when he hosted Congress MLAs for a week in 2002 to help then Maharashtra chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh survive a no-confidence motion. He also recalled sheltering Gujarat Congress MLAs during the 2017 Rajya Sabha polls to prevent horse-trading, which, he said, led to “400 to 500 cases” being filed against him. “How tortured I was then? I was in Tihar jail. I had to suffer without even a chair,” he recounted.
Underscoring his record as KPCC president, Shivakumar listed his achievements and reiterated that his loyalty to the Congress and the Gandhi family remained unwavering, regardless of controversies surrounding him.