Bengaluru, June 8 -- The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Monday took a dig at the BJP, accusing the party of denying a Rajya Sabha nomination to JD (S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda from the state for a subsequent term.
The grand old party also claimed that the BJP insulted the people of Karnataka by denying Gowda the Rajya Sabha nomination.
Late on Sunday, the BJP announced Prof M Nagaraja as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Karnataka, where the party can win one of the four seats going to polls on June 18, based on its current strength in the Assembly.
The polls were necessary because four MPs, including Gowda are retiring later this month. The JD (S), an ally of the BJP was reportedly hoping the latter would re-nominate its supremo to the Rajya Sabha.
"Yesterday in the dead of the night, BJP has denied a Rajya Sabha nomination to former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda, deciding to choose its state Vice President Incharge of District Building Construction, M Nagaraja over Ex PM," senior party leader and Congress in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala posted on 'X'.
"The constant humiliation heaped upon JD (S) by BJP and its leadership and its repeated acceptance by H D Kumaraswamy merely for sticking to a ministerial chair at any cost is highly astonishing and eye-opening. Furthermore, accepting this insult is an absolute extreme," he said.
Kumaraswamy is the son of Deve Gowda and union minister for Heavy Industries.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.