Belagavi, Dec 21: In a major blow to Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, the wife of a murdered BJP leader has formally joined Congress party claiming that the saffron party tried to take political advantage of the murder.
“I am a victim of BJP’s ugly politics. They use murders for political benefits,” said Mallamma, widow of late Yogesh Gouda, the BJP member of the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, after being inducted to the Congress party here on Wednesday.
She called on Karnataka Pradesh Congress women's wing president Lakshmi Hebbalkar, who welcomed Mallamma into the party fold by handing over the party flag to her at a hurriedly convened press conference, after Mallamma took primary membership of the party.
On questioned about her sudden decision to join politics, Mallamma said the BJP leaders were using her husband's murder as a tool to gain political mileage and so, she took the step.
Mallamma said that now BJP is trying to play another game by claiming that I was pressurised to join Congress. “They are liars. I have voluntarily joined the Congress and there was pressure on me to join the party,” she added.
Yogesh Gouda, a local BJP leader, who was elected to the Zilla Panchayat while still in prison, was hacked to death by a gang of miscreants in June this year at Saptapur. BJP leaders had claimed that he was killed by loyalists of Congress leader and Mines and Geology Minister Vinay Kulkarni.
However, recently Mallamma revealed that those BJP leaders who are demanding “justice” for her and giving statements to the media had been actually harassing her and trying to use her for their political benefits. She has also lodged a complaint with the Karnataka State Women’s Commission against her father-in-law, brother-in-law and a few BJP leaders.
She said that some BJP leaders had forced her to speak against Mr. Kulkarni, initially. But she does not believe that the Minister was behind the murder. She then sought an impartial probe into the murder. She said that she would request Chief Minister Siddharmaiah to refer her husband’s murder to the CBI.

Comments
Add new comment