BJP trading MLAs like sheep and goats in Goa, says Karnataka Cong chief

News Network

January 28, 2022

Bengaluru, Jan 28: Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Friday said that the BJP was trading legislators like "sheep and goats" in Goa, while also accusing the ruling party of spending as much as Rs 30 crore each to lure opposition MLAs into the ruling fold.

Shivakumar, who is in Goa to campaign for the Congress in the poll-bound state, also said that the Congress as a policy had refused to allow the re-entry of 13 defecting MLAs back into the party for the February 14 elections.

"You see the BJP is using money power, spending Rs 30-40 crore. Even on the floor of the house, some MLAs admitted that they were offered Rs 30 crore and some advance has been given to them. MLAs have been bought like sheep and goats. Where is democracy? Democracy has completely failed," Shivakumar told a press conference.

Several Congress defectors out of the 13, who switched to the BJP from 2017 to 2019, were in touch with him over possibilities of joining the opposition party once again, Shivakumar said.

"BJP did 'Operation Lotus' (in Goa). We decided that not a single defector will be taken back. Out of the 13, nearly 10 members wanted to come back to us. They met me personally. A few of them met me in Delhi also. We didn't agree," Shivakumar said.

The Karnataka state Congress president also said that the party had chosen to field fresh, new faces instead, which he said would yield good electoral dividends. "Now, we have selected youngsters, new faces. All of them have pledged that they will not shift their loyalty," Shivakumar said.

According to state Congress president Girish Chodankar, the party was fielding 36-37 candidates for the upcoming polls and the average of Congress candidates was around 48 years.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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