Mysore:

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he would never join the Bharatiya Janata Party even if he is appointed as the president or prime minister of the country.

Addressing a meeting of SC-ST activists and leaders at the district Congress office seeking votes for Lok Sabha candidate M. Laxman, the chief minister said political power will come only when our ideology is clear. People should not be fooled by the BJP-RSS. Shudras, Dalits and women are not allowed to enter the RSS sanctum.

“Dev Gowda had said that he would leave the country if Modi was elected as prime minister, but now says that he is inextricably linked with Modi. He also said that politicians should have a clear ideology,” West Mr Dalamaiya added.

The Karnataka Chief Minister further said that the BJP and RSS are against social justice. So they don’t like booking. Reservations are not handouts. This is the right of oppressed groups. As long as casteism exists in society, reservations should exist.

The chief minister said, “Before Independence and British rule, did we Shudras have the right to study? Did women have the right? Women had to immolate themselves immediately after the death of their husbands. This inhumane practice was inspired by Manusmriti and our constitution prohibited these Act. Therefore, they want to restore Manusmirthi by amending the constitution. The CM appealed to the people to understand this correctly.

Sudras, untouchables and women are not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. Senior BJP leader Nanje Gowda and BJP leader Gulihatti Shekhar have also publicly stated that they are not allowed to enter the sanctum of the RSS. This is a fact. Shudras were just used. Therefore, Shudras, Dalits and women should not join the RSS, he said.

“Should we criticize the JDS which has now joined hands with the RSS?” asked the CM. Congress passed a law to allocate funds in the budget based on Dalit population. Our government has enacted a law stating that 24.1% of development funds should be allocated. This progressive law has not been implemented by any BJP government in the country. Only our Congress government has done that. He also said that society should know all these facts.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said it was our Congress government that implemented reservations for Dalits in contracts. Isn’t it the same BJP that opposed the Mandal report and reservation for backward classes? The SCP/TSP Act was enacted by the Congressional Government. The chief minister therefore appealed to the people to let Congress candidate Laxman win instead of supporting those who anger them emotionally and threaten the lives of poor people.

Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, KPCC working president Tanveer Seth, Lok Sabha candidate Laxman and SC/ST unit leaders of KPCC were present on the stage.

Karnataka will hold elections to 28 constituencies in two phases on April 26 and May 7. The general election for the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the vote counting date being June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)