Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress president B K Hariprasad on Wednesday questioned the reported meetings between BJP leader Ram Madhav and a retired Pakistani ISI Major General, alleging that the BJP and the RSS must explain the purpose of the interactions, particularly when Madhav is the party’s in-charge for the upcoming GBA elections.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Hariprasad also accused the BJP of misrepresenting Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleged attempts to delete voters under the exercise, sought investigations into alleged temple donation box irregularities, and demanded a reduction in petrol and diesel prices in line with the fall in global crude oil prices.
“We are mentioning Ram Madhav because he is the BJP’s in-charge for the upcoming Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections in August. What was the purpose of going to Colombo and talking to the ISI in the context of the GBA elections? Has the Ministry of External Affairs outsourced India’s foreign policy to Ram Madhav? Has it been outsourced to the RSS?” Hariprasad asked.
Referring to media reports, he claimed that Ram Madhav had met a retired Pakistani ISI Major General in Colombo and alleged that a similar meeting had taken place in London two months after Operation Sindoor.
He demanded that Madhav must explain what the purpose was and alleged that the RSS and the BJP are turning the country’s policy upside down.
Madhav has already rejected the allegation.
In a post on ‘X’ on June 27, Madhav wrote, “Totally wrong portrayal. It was not a Track 2 dialogue. It was IISS annual South Asia Dialogue which was attended by scholars from India, Sri Lanka, US, UK, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even officials attended this annual dialogue in the past. No track 2 is held with so many countries. I did not attend the 2-day dialogue. I was invited to speak at one session, which I did and left. Complete spin to a non-story”.
On allegations relating to temple donation boxes, Hariprasad said warning boards would now have to caution devotees against theft of offerings.
“Now a new board will have to be put up saying, ‘Protect the donation box too. Beware, there are thieves here who loot the money from the donation box,'” he said, while questioning why the
Prime Minister was silent on the issue. He also called for an investigation into the assets of a Karnataka leader associated with cow protection campaigns.
Responding to questions on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Hariprasad maintained that the Congress was not opposed to the exercise itself but to its alleged misuse.
“We are not against the SIR. We are against the conspiracy being carried out under the guise of the SIR,” he said.
The Congress state chief alleged that lakhs of voters had been deleted from electoral rolls in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Hariprasad also called for a reduction in fuel prices, arguing that the decline in international crude oil prices should be reflected in domestic retail prices.
“Diesel and petrol prices should also be reduced. We demand that they should be brought back to the level they were at before the war,” he said.
The Congress state chief said that LGP cylinder prices were reduced recently, keeping the approaching elections in mind.
