D. K. Shivakumar apologises for singing RSS anthem in Karnataka Assembly

KPCC president and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who sparked a controversy by singing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthemNamaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume in the Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session of the State legislature last week, apologised on August 26 to ‘anyone in the Congress and INDI Alliance who was hurt’.

Reiterating his loyalty to the Congress party since 1980 and the Gandhi family, Mr. Shivakumar said, “None in my high command asked’ him to submit an apology.

During the discussion on stampede occurred during the RCB celebration on June 4 at the M Chinnaswamy stadium raised by the Opposition BJP, he had sung a part of their (RSS) prayer to ‘pull their (BJP) leg’. “Some of my friends take a political leaf out of it, try to misuse it and try to confuse the public. My intention is not to praise RSS,” said the trouble-shooter of the Congress party in Karnataka.

“My loyalty to the Congress and the Gandhi family cannot be questioned by anyone. I was born a Congressman and will die as a Congressman,” the deputy CM said while speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on August 26.

“Before joining politics and joining the NSUI,” he said, “I studied about the NSUI, Congress, Gandhi family, the contribution of the Gandhi family, the history of Congress, history of RSS, BJP, JD(S), Communist party and various political parties in the country.”

Recalling his imprisonment in Tihar jail in Delhi in the alleged money laundering case filed by the ED, he said, “If anyone wants to know my history, to know my commitment, my ideology and they wanted to do politics with it, it is left to them. I don’t want to comment.”

“But if anyone is hurt, some of my party colleagues were commenting on that, I have a lot of followers… if anyone hurt anyone, I don’t want to hurt their feelings, I feel sorry for them. I would like to apologise to them.”

Senior Congress leader B. K. Hariprasad, MLC, sought an apology from Mr. Shivakumar while former minister K. N. Rajanna criticised the Deputy CM actions in the recent past, including sharing a stage with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a function in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) during the Mahashivaratri festival organised by the Isha Foundation.