Ministers and legislators of the Congress have to obey the party high command’s decisions and contest the Lok Sabha elections if instructed to enter the poll fray, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao has said.
Mr. Rao told reporters in Bengaluru on Saturday that the party, which released its first list on Friday, would release its list in two or three phases. “We are ready to fight the elections. We have to obey the high command’s decisions and contest elections... All Ministers, MLAs, and MLCs have to fight elections if the high command instructs,” the Minister said.
Sources in the party said that many Ministers have distanced themselves from contesting the general elections and shown interest to field their sons or daughters if the party’s central leaders agreed.
On Dr. Manjunath
The Minister said that the Congress does not fear any BJP and JD(S) candidate in the parliamentary elections and was ready to face Dr. C.N. Manjunath, cardiologist, in Bengaluru Rural constituency if he is fielded.
Dr. Manjunath recently retired after a long service at the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru. He is the son-in-law of JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. The Congress has fielded D.K. Suresh from the Bengaluru Rural constituency. Speculation is about whether Dr. Manjunath will be fielded from Bengaluru Rural or on the BJP ticket from Bengaluru North constituency.
“Let the BJP field Dr. Manjunath. We will politically fight against the BJP. We are not scared of the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate... Dr. Manjunath was allowed to continue as head of the hospital earlier when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister,” Mr. Rao said.
In reply to a question on Mr. Deve Gowda saying that his son-in-law should not enter the “dirty and polluted politics”, Mr. Rao shot back and asked, “Does it mean that [Mr. Deve Gowda’s sons] the former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and the former Minister H.D. Revanna are in polluted politics?”
‘Stolen’ guarantee
The Minister said the government’s five guarantees would work in favour of the party candidates in the general elections. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stolen our guarantees,” he said, referring to the oft-repeated “Modi ki guarantee” slogans being used in advertisements of various schemes.
