At the induction ceremony of former minister BT Lalitha Naik, KPCC chief DK Shivakumar said the real pride lies in the party giving everyone the power to raise their voice.
Published Jul 11, 2025 | 4:44 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 11, 2025 | 4:44 PM
DK Shivakumar. (X)
Joining a political party is not mandatory to hold a public office, but what matters more is working for the party, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said.
“It is not important to join a party just to become a Governor, Chief Minister, Union Minister, Panchayat Member, or aBoard Chairperson. What matters is working for the party. The real pride lies in the party giving everyone the power to raise their voice,” Shivakumar, also the KPCC president, said.
He was speaking at the Congress induction ceremony of former minister BT Lalitha Naik, held at the Bharat Jodo Bhavan on Friday, 11 July.
“You won’t get such opportunities in any other party. I wouldn’t have been able to get such a chair (position of power) in any other party. Even the leaders on this stage wouldn’t have received such roles elsewhere. Only Congress makes this possible,” he said.
“When we were undertaking the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state, an elderly woman came near Monakalmuru and offered a cucumber to Rahul Gandhi. She told him it was a cucumber grown from the soil. Such moments were never created by the BJP or Janata Dal. Pensions, education, hospitals, food for the hungry—only the Congress has brought about real change in the lives of the poor,” he said.
“It is the Congress that gave this country the Constitution, national anthem, secular values, and national flag. Did the BJP do this? We declared Basavanna a cultural leader. Would the BJP have done such revolutionary work? We held a constitutional protection rally in Belagavi chanting ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhana’. Mallikarjun Kharge now sits in the same seat once occupied by Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.
“People are facing the brunt of rising prices. Everything has become more expensive. To ease the lives of families, we launched five guarantee schemes,” he added.
“Across the state, if you add all our welfare schemes, we are spending around ₹1 lakh crore for the benefit of the people. We don’t think in terms of caste, but about principles. Most people here are Hindus. But we don’t say ‘Only Hindus First’ like the BJP. We believe in unity across castes and communities. None of us applied to be born into a particular caste,” he said.
“Some people may misuse the Constitution, but that is temporary. The Congress exists to uphold the Constitution and protect the people. The Nehru family donated their personal property to the nation. Sonia Gandhi declined the post of Prime Minister and handed it over to Manmohan Singh for the sake of the country. Such sacrifice is unmatched in the world,” he added.
“It’s our fortune to belong to a party with such a glorious history,” Shivakumar said.
