English
Kodagu: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asserted that Jagadish Shettar , who quit the Congress and returned to the BJP fold Thursday, was always treated with respect and did not face any injustice during his stint with the the grand-old party.
“Congress treated Jagadish Shettar very well and gave him a suitable position while he was humiliated by BJP. We gave him the assembly ticket. Congress has given him a lot of respect by making him MLC for his success,” Siddaramaiah said while reacting to Shettar rejoining the saffron party earlier today.
The Karnataka CM noted that Shettar never faced any injustice in the Congress and was always treated with utmost respect, unlike the BJP, who had “humiliated” the former Chief Minister, which led him to part ways with the saffron party.
“No injustice has been done to Jagadish Shettar in the Congress party and neither was he disrespected. It was the BJP that insulted him by not giving him a ticket. Although we gave him the ticket, he lost the assembly election. We made him an MLC and treated him with respect. I don’t know about his rejoining the BJP. He told me that I have been humiliated in BJP and will not go back again,” said Siddaramaiah.
Jagadish Shettar on Thursday returned to the BJP, almost a year after the former Karnataka CM had quit the saffron party and joined the Congress ahead of last year’s Karnataka state polls.
“Today is a day of great happiness for us as Jagadish Shettar is making a return to BJP. We all welcome him,” BJP national chief spokesperson Anil Baluni said.
Shettar rejoined the BJP in the national capital in the presence of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, Union Minister Bhupender Singh Yadav, Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa, Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
#WATCH | Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar re-joins BJP in the presence of former CM-senior party leader BS Yediyurappa and state BJP President BY Vijayendra, at BJP Headquarters in Delhi.
He had quit BJP and joined Congress in April last year. pic.twitter.com/sVJpP9AVu2
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2024
Commenting on his return to the BJP, Shettar said he had to leave the party last year “due to some issues”.
“The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the past. Due to some issues, I went to the Congress party. In the last eight to nine months, there were a lot of discussions, also BJP workers asked me to come back to the BJP,” Shettar said.
“Yediyurappa ji and Vijayendra ji also wanted me to come back to the BJP. I am rejoining the party with the belief that Narendra Modi ji has to become the PM again,” he said.
Earlier today, Shettar met Home Minister Amit Shah at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Days before his return to the BJP, rumors were rife that Shettar would rejoin the saffron party, however, those were downplayed by the Karnataka Congress leader who claimed that BJP’s leadership crisis in the state prompted the party to head towards the former Chief Minister.
In April 2023, Shettar had quit BJP and joined Congress ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections.
“Though he was in RSS and Jana Sangha, he’s a non-controversial person. We have worked together,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had said at the time.
Shettar, a six-time MLA from the constituency, was reportedly advised by the BJP to stand down and not seek a fresh term as MLA from the Hubli-Dharwad Central segment, following which his followers expressed their anguish against the party’s high command.
After announcing his resignation from BJP, Jagadish Shettar had also mentioned that there was a conspiracy against him, which is why he was denied a ticket.
However, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had said that if Shettar comes back to BJP, the party would welcome him.
(With ANI inputs)
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