MP criticises Siddaramaiah for remarks on RSS

Congress leaders trying to spread rumours about textbook review process: MP

Mysuru MP Pratap Simha on Saturday said he pities the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who the MP said, now has to praise Congress president Sonia Gandhi against whom he had spoken without any respect when in the Janata Dal (Secular).

Slamming Mr. Siddaramaiah for his statement on the origin of the RSS, Mr. Simha said he should talk about the origin of Ms. Gandhi. “When he was in the JD(S), Mr. Siddaramaiah talked lightly about Ms. Gandhi. But today he is in a sorry state where the former Chief Minister has to praise her,” he told reporters in Udupi.

The MP was in Udupi to deliver a special lecture at Amrita Bharatige Kannadada Aarati programme to mark the 75 years of Independence. Mr. Simha said Mr. Siddaramaiah should tell about the origin of Ms. Gandhi to the people of Karnataka before talking about the RSS.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, while participating in the 58th death anniversary programme of the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Bengaluru on Friday had said the RSS was scared of the real history and as such history is being deceptively distorted in school textbooks. Mr. Simha said Mr. Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar were attempting to spread rumours about the textbook review process. Some writers such as Baragur Ramachandrappa and Devanur Mahadeva also tried to spread rumours.

When Primary and Secondary Education Minister B.C. Nagesh and textbook review committee chairperson Rohit Chakrateertha invited those who opposing the review process for an open debate, they were not prepared for the debate, he pointed out. ‘‘Those who are opposing the review of textbooks are simply trying to create confusion,’’ he rued.

Stating that he has high regards for Mr. Mahadeva as a writer, Mr. Simha said unfortunately, the writer was now involved in campaigning for the Congress. He had campaigned against him and for the Congress in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Mysuru and the results were self-explanatory, the MP said. It has been long since Mr. Mahadeva took the pen and let him restart writing instead of becoming “Mykasura” in front of mikes, Mr. Simha said.