Tejaswini scotches rumours of quitting Congress

Tejaswini Gowda. Photo: V Sreenivasa Murthy

Tejaswini Gowda, former Congress MP, known for her penchant for speaking against leaders of the party, on Friday scotched rumours that she was walking out of the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party .

Rumours have been afloat on her move to hop to the BJP, particularly after she called on the former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council D.V. Sadananda Gowda of the BJP. Ms. Tejaswini Gowda, however, told The Hindu that she had no such plan.

Ms. Tejaswini shot to the limelight after defeating the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in the Kanakapura Lok Sabha Constituency in 2004. She told The Hindu : “I have not taken a decision on quitting the Congress at this juncture, and as of now I am in the Congress. I called on the former Chief Minister to discuss an issue related to the Gundya power project,” she said.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda also told The Hindu that politics was not discussed during the meeting with the Congress leader. “Ms. Tejaswini met me to get a copy of the K. Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats and nothing else.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Tejaswini, a journalist-turned politician, accused Minister for Energy D.K. Shivakumar of “harassing her for being a woman and forcing the police to file cases against her supporters in Kanakapura. The Minister has been making all efforts to deny me the Congress ticket in the Lok Sabha elections,” she claimed.

On shaky ground

Ms. Tejaswini said she was not happy in the Congress and the State-level leaders have not been utilising her credentials to boost the party’s prospects in the coming general elections. “My relations with the party high command and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are excellent. But, my relations with State-level leaders are not so cordial,” she said.

“Rather than serving the party and the people of the State, a few Congress State-level leaders are fulfilling their own interests. I don’t want to waste time in politics. I will take a decision soon on contesting elections to the Lok Sabha,” Ms. Tejaswini said.