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Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad on Sunday formally assumed charge as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president at the party's 'Sankalpa Samavesha' held at Palace Grounds, asserting that the,"tricolour was the party's religion and the Constitution its holy book", while launching a sharp attack on the BJP and the RSS.
Urging workers to donate to the party instead of offering garlands and shawls, Hariprasad said the Congress Constitution gave equal opportunity to all religions. "BJP is creating unrest through religion-based politics," he alleged. Quoting Kuvempu, he said Congress had worked to eradicate superstition and poverty, making Karnataka a "garden of all communities." "We must not allow communalism to spread," he added. Calling on workers to take a pledge, Hariprasad said the party must join struggles of the oppressed. "If we are not vigilant, opponents are waiting to destroy us. Don't allow religion-based politics," he said. He termed Nathuram Godse "India's first terrorist" for killing Mahatma Gandhi, and said BJP "will not call him a murderer publicly." Citing BR Ambedkar, he said one should enter politics to change the lives of the downtrodden, not for livelihood. Hariprasad accused RSS and BJP of being "cowards" who malign India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru life-long but "cannot come close to him," crediting Nehru with nation-building. He recalled working with six members of the Gandhi family and said only Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the nation. "Sonia Gandhi renounced power," he noted. Alleging that BJP was dismantling food security, NREGA and the electoral system under "One Nation, One Religion," he said local parties were being weakened. "Karnataka is a model of social justice for the world. Support me to grow the Congress," he appealed. Hariprasad said BJP and RSS did not participate in the freedom struggle and were now "using constitutional bodies as puppets" to finish the Constitution. "SIR is causing havoc. Congress gave voting rights to all; now the ECI is snatching them," he said. Thanking Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for the opportunity, he said serving the 141-year-old Congress was a responsibility, not power. He expressed gratitude to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and to former CM Siddaramaiah for his service to the poor and two terms in office. (ANI)
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