A.H. Vishwanath, former Minister an BJP MLC, on Monday came down on party colleague C.T. Ravi and Congress leader Priyank Kharge for drawing the names of former Prime Ministers of the country - Jawaharlal Nehru and A.B. Vajpayee - in their political tirade and speaking derogatorily about their personal habits during the public debate over naming of government schemes after political leaders.
Showering praise on . Nehru as the ‘pride of India’, Mr Vishwanath lashed out at Mr. Ravi for speaking lightly about the late Congress leader, who he said, had spent more years in jail during the freedom struggle than as PM of free India. He said the entire family of Pandit Nehru had not only plunged into the struggle, but also propagated secularism and the message of peace to the world. Their contribution to laying and protecting the secular and democratic foundations in the country can never be forgotten, he said while condemning the utterances of Mr. Ravi, the national general secretary of BJP.
While advising Mr. Ravi to read and learn about the leaders of the yore and their speeches in the Upper and Lower House of the Parliament, Mr. Vishwanath called upon him to withdraw his statements. He also did not spare Congress leader Priyank Kharge also for his remarks against the late BJP stalwart A.B. Vajpayee. He asked Mr. Kharge to learn how to speak from his father M. Mallikarjun Kharge, who is now the Congress leader in Rajya Sabha. Mr. Ravi and Mr. Kharge, both former Ministers, should realise that they should maintain decency and decorum in public debates. “Nobody has a right to talk about the private lives of public figures,” he said.
To a question on BJP’s opposition to naming of Indira canteens after late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the BJP MLC wondered what was in a name. He said Indira Gandhi had strived to remove poverty in the country with a call for ‘Garibi Hatao’. He described the demand for change of name as ‘pettiness’. “Has anybody asked for removal of the name of Mr. Vajpayee from the health schemes,” he questioned.
Portfolios
Mr. Vishwanath trained his guns against the Ministers in the State government, who were demanding this. “Are the Ministers, who are demanding a change in portfolio, experts in the departments they were hankering after? Do you want particular departments because there is a lot of money involved,” he questioned before pointing out to them that all portfolios were good and there was lot of work to be done in each department.
He recalled that he also started with a small portfolio like Department of Kannada and Culture before he was elevated to the Cabinet rank and allotted with portfolios like Forest, Education and Co-operation. He called upon the Ministers to extend support to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
