Coward DK bows before mother Italy: JDS mocks Shivakumar over RSS anthem apology

The Janata Dal (Secular) on Tuesday accused Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of bowing to the Congress high command after his apology over reciting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthem in the Legislative Assembly recently.

In a post on X, the JD(S) described Shivakumar as “a tiger in the assembly, but a mouse before the high command,” alleging that he had apologised out of fear of expulsion. The party said Shivakumar had “knelt and apologised to save his position and escape expulsion” after facing criticism from Congress leaders for reciting the RSS song.

The JD(S) further claimed that Congress ministers belonging to the Dalit community had been summarily dismissed from their posts without even being given an opportunity to apologise, contrasting it with what it described as leniency shown towards Shivakumar. The party was seen taking a veiled dig at the recent sacking of KN Rajanna, a leader from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, who was dropped from the cabinet after a series of controversies.

“The high command did not even give them a single opportunity to apologise. The Congress high command has one justice for Dalits and another for the powerful,” the post said.

Accompanying its statement, the JD(S) also circulated an image that read: “Fear of expulsion, coward DK bows down to mother Italy” and “DK is successful in safeguarding his DCM chair.”

The remarks come after Shivakumar clarified that he had only recited a few lines of the RSS anthem in the Assembly to target Opposition leader R Ashoka, not to praise the organisation.

Describing the Gandhi family as central to his political devotion, Shivakumar remarked, “Devotee and God. Gandhi family is my God and I am a devotee.” He insisted that his loyalty to the Gandhi family and the Congress party remained “unwavering” and described himself as a “born congressman” who would “die as a congressman.”

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