Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Oct 29: A 50-second video of former CM Siddaramaiah, in which he is heard saying that Congress is not wooing Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, is doing rounds on social media.

The leaked video clip of a private conversation between Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah and former Piriyapatna legislator K Venkatesh has triggered a controversy.

In the video, Siddaramaiah is seen discussing that B S Yediyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy are losing influence over the communities. “See, Lingayats will not be the same to B S Yediyurappa and Vokkaligas won’t be the same to H D Kumaraswamy,” Siddaramaiah tells Venkatesh.

To this, Venkatesh says, “Yes, and our own people aren’t ready to encash this,” to which Siddaramaiah agrees. “Shivakumar waves the JD(S) flag. What does that mean?” Venkatesh says. Siddaramaiah then takes a dig at Shivakumar, saying he holds the flags of both Congress and JD(S). “What should we say for that? I’ve said in Gadag that we won’t have anything to do with the JD(S), come what may,” he is heard saying.

The conversation is a major indicator which confirms many in Congress are not happy with the relationship Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, shares with Kumaraswamy.

BJP was quick to react to the video, calling Siddaramaiah as ‘casteist’.

However, Siddaramaiah in a series of tweets termed the controversy was a result of ‘fake news.’ Stressing he was not a casteist, Siddaramaiah clarified, “I have always been inspired by Ambedkar, Gandhiji, Basavanna and Kuvempu in my commitment to social justice.”

He also said that his statement in the video highlights his happiness that people are selecting representatives by keeping the caste factor aside. “What is wrong in saying people are secular?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar clarified that he was born a Congressman. When asked to react to Siddaramaiah’s statements, he said, “He has a lot of love for me.”