From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Aug 7: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chief D K Shivakumar strongly condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘vendetta politics’ of removing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s name from the Khel Ratna and naming it after Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand.

While asserting that Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand was an asset of the country, the KPCC President addressing a media conference said the Congress party has no objection if the Modi government wanted to institute a special award or launches a new scheme in Dhyan Chand’s name but renaming Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was 'nothing but petty and vendetta politics'.

Shivakumar said the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ensured that youth got the voting right at the age 18 and launched several revolutionary programmes. Rajiv Gandhi’s contribution and his sacrifice for the country is immortal, he said and lambasted the BJP leaders for trying to wipe out names of several prominent leaders who had contributed to the cause of India.

“The Congress party will not remain a silent spectator for this type of petty and vendetta politics,’’ he said and demanded that the Union government to reverse its decision.

Asserting that Congress party has no objection if Modi government wanted to launch pro-people programme but should give up is vendetta politics.

Shivakumar attacked Modi for renaming the Sardar Patel Stadium in Gujarat after himself and wondered how the Prime Minister, who spent crores of rupees on installing a statue of Sardar Patel, could brazenly remove Sardar Patel’s name from the stadium named after him.

Taking strong exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that the Rajiv Gandji Khel Ratna award was renamed after Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand due to public demand, the State Congress chief asked the Prime Minister why the petrol and diesel prices were not being reduced.

“Is the Modi government deaf to the cries and sufferings of people or the plight of the crores of unemployed people? Why the farm laws are not being withdrawn when farmers have been demanding it and staging protests for almost a year,’’ he asked.

Lambasting BJP National General Secretary C T Ravi for his demand to remove former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s name from the Indira Canteen programme started by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, Shivakumar dared the BJP government to go ahead and remove Indira’s name and face the consequences.

“Let them remove Indira Gandhi’s name and rename Indira Canteens and we will show them what Congressmen will do,’’ he said.

Shivakumar said the BJP leaders in the State or the Centre had no original ideas of their own or programmes but were simply destroying the institutions established by the Congress governments and renaming the programmes. “Let the Union and State Governments respond to the plight of the people,’’ he said.

The KPCC Chief said the BJP leaders were repeatedly harping on Gujarat model and asked the property taxes in Bengaluru were not suspended for a year due to Covid pandemic and lockdowns as was done by the Gujarat city municipal corporation. Instead, the State Government has issued notices to the property owners on flimsy grounds, he said.

He also attacked the Modi government and BJP for failure to control the Covid pandemic and implement the vaccination all over the country. Crores of people, the poor and other vulnerable people have suffered and nothing was done to mitigate their sufferings, he added.