BENGALURU: The Congress leadership is grappling with internal discord that risks overshadowing the centenary celebrations of the historic 1924 Congress session in Belagavi, starting Thursday. The ongoing spat between minister Laxmi Hebbalkar and BJP MLC CT Ravi has diverted attention from the event, which commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency at the landmark session.
To defuse tensions, home minister G Parameshwara on Monday ordered a CID probe into the controversy, hoping to quell the issue ahead of the two-day event.
Hebbalkar’s continued sparring with Ravi has dominated headlines, reportedly frustrating senior Congress functionaries who fear the conflict could derail their planned agenda.
“What we sincerely advise is to exercise restraint as the matter is before the court and the legislature, while the govt has commissioned a CID probe. Now, it is time to stop the rhetoric and focus on making the event successful,” said KPCC vice-president and spokesperson VR Sudarshan. Congress had intended to spotlight Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent controversial remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar by passing a resolution condemning the comments and demanding his apology and resignation. However, Hebbalkar’s feud with Ravi has become a distraction from these plans.
The controversy escalated after Ravi’s arrest, following alleged derogatory remarks made in the legislative council. In response, the BJP announced a “Belagavi Chalo” march to protest what it termed custodial harassment during Ravi’s detention. Congress views this as an attempt to disrupt the centenary celebrations.
“We all know the design of the BJP aiming at spoiling our event. Let them try, but they know the strength of the Congress, and they can never disturb the event,” said KPCC president and deputy CM DK Shivakumar.
“I am still alive and will fight for justice as it is a question of the dignity of a woman. But let us focus on the event for now and take up the fight once the Congress session is over,” he added Shivakumar, while supporting Hebbalkar, has announced a temporary truce to ensure the success of the event.
BJP to focus on Good Governance Day
The BJP has leveraged the controversy to rally its cadres, though internal differences within the party remain. To manage the fallout, the party leadership has dispatched a team led by Union minister Piyush Goyal.
The BJP high command has reportedly scaled back the “Belagavi Chalo” plan to prevent it from overshadowing their Good Governance Day observance on Dec 25, marking former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary. “There is no point in dragging the issue further as the matter is now before the court. We have asked all our functionaries to focus on Good Governance Day and counter the false claims of the Congress about Amit Shah’s statement on Ambedkar,” said Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, BJP national secretary and co-incharge of Karnataka. “It is the Congress that insulted Ambedkar, while our govt honoured him with the Bharat Ratna,” he said.