Congress Leaders Trade Barbs Over Shivakumar Singing RSS Anthem in Assembly
Bengaluru/New Delhi | August 26: A fresh dispute has broken out within the Congress in Karnataka after Deputy Chief Minister and state party president D K Shivakumar sang the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthem inside the state Assembly during a recent debate. The act has now sparked criticism from senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad, who demanded that Shivakumar publicly apologise.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Monday, Hariprasad questioned Shivakumar’s intentions. “Who is he trying to please? The RSS has been banned three times in the history of independent India. The Congress cannot afford to compromise on its ideology,” he said.
The senior leader further alleged that it was not proper for Shivakumar, in his capacity as the party’s state president, to sing a hymn associated with an organisation that Congress has historically opposed. “If he sings as deputy chief minister, the government belongs to the people of Karnataka, not to a party. But as Congress president, he should not sing a song of the RSS. For that, he owes an apology,” Hariprasad remarked.
He also took a jibe at Shivakumar, describing him as “a man with many faces—politician, businessman, quarry owner, educationist—and maybe now also an RSS worker”.
The controversy began on August 21, when Shivakumar sang the RSS anthem during discussions in the Assembly following the tragic stampede near Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, which left 11 people dead.
However, several Congress leaders have come to the Deputy CM’s defence. Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa told reporters in Mysuru that Shivakumar’s action did not mean he was aligning with the BJP. “By singing that song, he has only asserted that he too is a Hindu. Congress will continue to fight against the RSS ideology and any organisation harmful to democracy, secularism, and the Constitution,” he clarified.
Former minister and Mysuru MLA Tanveer Sait also downplayed the row. “Just because Shivakumar sang the RSS anthem does not mean he supports the BJP. He himself has said many times he is a ‘born Congress worker’. Understanding another ideology does not mean we are compromising ours,” he said.
Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara chose not to comment on the matter.
The internal rift has highlighted the ongoing ideological sensitivities within the Congress, which has historically opposed the RSS and its ideology, even as leaders like Shivakumar try to strike a balance in a politically complex state like Karnataka.
Source: Based on reports from Bengaluru and New Delhi (Agencies/Press reports)
