To counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the Congress always insulted its senior leaders from Karnataka, the party has sought to remind him how B S Yediyurappa “shed tears in public” when he had to quit as chief minister in 2021, and also recalled the income tax raids on his family members. On a visit to the state on February 27, Modi told a rally at Belagavi that he had felt that the Congress had hated Karnataka because it had “insulted” prominent leaders from the state who were not loyal to the Gandhi family. “It is known that (former CMs) S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil were insulted. Recently, at the Congress plenary session, it insulted senior leader and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge,” he said, adding that he was saddened by such acts. Modi was referring to an incident during the plenary session when Kharge and other leaders were standing in the sun, where “Kharge did not get an umbrella” but “someone else got it”. The two late leaders were from the Lingayat community. Kharge, who hails from Kalaburagi district, is a Dalit. Patil's removal as chief minister was considered a turning point in Karnataka politics, after which the Lingayat community shifted its loyalties away from the Congress—initially to the Janata Dal and more recently to the BJP. The Congress, which has remained aggressive throughout the election campaign, was quick to draw attention to Yediyurappa. Opposition leader K Siddaramaiah on Tuesday referred to the ouster of Yediyurappa, under whose leadership the BJP had emerged the single-largest party in the Assembly elections. “Who forcibly removed Yediyurappa as CM and made him shed tears in public?” Siddaramaiah said and wanted to know “where Modi was hiding” when Yediyurappa cried. “Who was it, Modiji? Who insulted senior leader L K Advani, the one who gave you a political life, and relegated him to the Margadarshak Mandal?” the former chief minister further asked. State Congress president D K Shivakumar urged Modi to “talk about the pain suffered by Yediyurappa” and explain why income tax raids were carried out against his family members and close friends. “People of the state and country should know its background. Why did it (raids) happen? How many times was he asked to appear before officials (and) agencies. All these details should be revealed,” he said. Shivakumar said the BJP needed Yediyurappa’s leadership to win elections and secure its MLAs under Operation Lotus. The Lingayat strongman was asked to step down shortly after becoming chief minister. “Why wasn’t the PM gentle then? Let them (BJP) announce that they will fight the election under his leadership. Let him (Yediyurappa) be sworn in (as CM). Only then will people believe,” he said. Shivakumar denied the charge that the Congress had insulted Nijalingappa and Patil. While Patil was removed as CM owing to his poor health, the party state chief said, Nijalingappa was welcomed back to the party despite his falling out with Indira Gandhi. Yediyurappa has emerged a key figure for the ruling BJP’s electoral prospects in recent weeks, as signalled by the party high command’s renewed reliance on him. While his retirement from active politics has left a leadership vacuum, which many leaders across parties are keen to fill, his resignation as chief minister two years ago had not sat well with his influential community.
