Mangaluru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao reiterated that the doors of the Congress party were permanently closed for the disqualified MLAs, as they abandoned the party leading to the fall of the coalition government in the state.
Addressing the reporters here on Friday, October 25, Rao said that there was no question of taking them back as they had betrayed the party. “Even though a few of them evinced interest to join the party, we will not entrain them as they betrayed the party,” he stressed.
However, Rao did not reveal the names of those who expressed a desire to rejoin the party. “I won’t reveal their names. But, the doors of the Congress are permanently closed to them,” he said.
When asked about the release of senior party leader D K Shivakumar and rumours that he would replace him as the KPCC president, Rao said that the party will take a decision that is good for the party. “Our primary objective is to root out the fascist and dictatorial BJP government from both the state and Centre. We are all united to realise this dream,” he added.
Pointing out the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections, Rao said that the situation is favourable for the Congress party in the state. “The BJP government in the state is in an unconscious condition and it has done nothing for the flood victims. Even though the Union Government has released Rs 1,200 crores for the flood victims of the state recently, such a meagre amount is not enough. It was released not for the benefit of the flood victims, but to win in the by-elections. The people should teach them a befitting lesson in the upcoming Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) elections,” he added.
AICC secretary P C Vishnunathan, former minister B Ramanath Rai, MLCs Hareesh Kumar, Ivan D’Souza, former MLAs Shakunthala Shetty, J R Lobo, Vijay Kumar Shetty, district youth Congress president Mithun Rai and others were present.
