Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Tuesday, August 26, said he was ready to apologise if anyone, including his party colleagues or the INDIA bloc, was hurt by his decision to recite the RSS anthem in the Assembly. He added that his loyalty to the Congress could not be questioned.
“If anyone is hurt, I apologise… My loyalty to the Gandhi family and the Congress cannot be questioned by anyone. I am a born Congressman, I will die as one,” Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru. He clarified that he had sung a couple of lines of the RSS prayer song “Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhoome” in the Assembly only to “pull the BJP’s leg” during a heated debate and not to signal any political shift.
Shivakumar had surprised the House on August 21 when, during a debate on the June 4 Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede that killed 11 people, he broke into the first stanza of the RSS prayer. The BJP, which had demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G Parameshwara, and Shivakumar himself over the tragedy, welcomed the recital with thumping of desks, while Congress members remained silent.
Explaining his actions, Shivakumar said, “I just commented and tried to pull their (BJP’s) leg. Some of my friends are taking a political leap, trying to misuse it and cause confusion among the public. I don’t want to hurt their feelings. If anyone has been hurt, I am sorry about it. I have a lot of followers and friends across party lines. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
His remarks came shortly after senior Congress leader and MLC BK Hariprasad publicly demanded an apology, questioning who Shivakumar was trying to impress by singing a prayer linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, “an organisation banned thrice in independent India.” Hariprasad had said, “We have no objection to Shivakumar reciting the prayer as the Deputy CM, because a government belongs to all, including the RSS. But if he said it as Congress president, then he will have to apologise.”
When asked about the controversy, Home Minister G Parameshwara said, “We have the high command. They are always watching what their leaders are doing, making statements or taking a stand on issues. If they feel this is wrong, they will ask for an answer from Shivakumar. If they think it was just a reference in a different context, then they will not bother.”