BJP's Krishna still 'hangs around' in Cong office

Bengaluru, Sept 17: Senior leader S M Krishna may have jumped the ship to join the BJP, but the Congress does not want to let go of him. Well, at least not his portrait that hangs in the party head office.

Drama prevailed at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Queen’s Road on Saturday as two party workers — Sardar Sharif and Shafiullah — removed Krishna’s portrait because “he cheated the party”. The two were suspended.

All the former KPCC presidents’ portraits are hung on the first floor in the party head office on Queen’s Road. Krishna’s was hung between Dharam Singh and V S Koujalagi. “Why should we have Krishna’s portrait even after he deserted the party?” a section of workers opined, as they removed the portrait. Other party workers tried to stop them, but Shariff and Shafiullah paid no heed. They fled the office after removing the portrait.

All this happened while Parameshwara, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal and KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao were in a meeting to discuss the 2018 Assembly polls.

Parameshwara and Rao rushed out and took the party workers to task. They ensured the portrait was restored to its original place. “Krishna has served as chief minister and party president. He may have left the party, but we still respect him. It’s wrong to remove his portrait,” Parameshwara and Rao were heard telling other party workers.

Krishna, who was the chief minister from 1999 to 2004, quit the Congress in January this year and formally joined the BJP in March. He did so saying Congress was “in a state of confusion” on whether it needed mass leaders or not.