Daijiworld Media Network - Mysuru (SP)
Mysuru, Mar 9: Former MP and veteran Congress leader, A H Vishwanath, through an open letter addressed to president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), G Parameshwar, has repulsed the show cause notice he received from KPCC for his public barbs at chief minister, Siddarmaiah, in particular and the party's government in the state in general.
"I have always remained faithful to the Congress. I have always done what I have believed in, and never resorted to make changes in my behaviour to suit the people. Be careful before accusing me. I reject your notice," he said in the letter.
Vishwanath stressed that he has never criticized top brass of the party, adding that he has always hailed the party for its people-friendly stance and held Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Hegde as the only ones who are in-charge of the party affairs. "There appears to be some misunderstanding and misinterpretation of this statement based on which notice has been served on me. Even if I get another notice in response to this letter, I will not dither from my stand," he said, addressing a press conference here on Wednesday March 8.
He also told Parameshwar that he had not derided anyone and that if the party leadership had conceived his statements as their criticism, it is their illusion. "My opinion is that those who are running the party and those who run Congress-led governments have inflicted damage to the party. I have been keeping the people and party workers informed of this reality. Even now, nothing has been lost," he said.
Vishwanath reminded the party that senior leaders like himself, Janardhana Poojary and Jaffer Shariff are not members of the parliamentary party in the state and that they are members of All India Congress Committee (AICC). Therefore, he has reasoned that the right to serve notice on him lies with AICC and not KPCC. "How can you exercise a right which you do not have? What is your aim and why are you manipulating things by serving this notice," he sharply questioned the KPCC president.