Udupi : The selection of a candidate to represent the Karkala Constituency will be decided by the Congress high command and the question of lobbying for the same is ruled out, informed Veerappa Moily, Member of Parliament and former chief minister of Karnataka state while interacting with media persons at Tenka Yermal Helipad on Tuesday, March 20.
“The party high command’s decision on allotment of tickets is final,” said Moily adding that there was no separate high command for the party in Karkala or district.
“Presently, the Karkala Constituency is in BJP’s hand and the Congress workers should try to get back Karkala constituency seat through hard work and unity,” he added.
Responding to a question on the tweet controversy, Moily said that he and his son, Harsha had already clarified their position to the people concerned and no notice has been given to them.
“We have already said that our Twitter accounts were hacked. The tweets, too were later deleted by us,” he said.
Regarding the separate religion for Lingayats, Veerappa Moily said that the decision had nothing to do with politics. This issue is not new and has been there since the13th century. Just because a separate status has been accorded to Lingayats, it doesn’t mean that the Veerashaiva communities is neglected. We respect the Veerashaiva as well as Lingayats communities,” he said.
Moily attributed paucity of time in the busy schedule of Rahul’s two-day Karnataka tour for him skipping visit to Udupi City, and the Sri Krishna temple. “Due to busy schedule of Rahul, it was not possible to visit to Udupi city. He will visit the district later and when he does so, he will definitely visit Sri Krishna Math. Rahul does not differentiate between religions. It is not the tradition of the Congress to utilize religion for politics,” he said.
“The Congress party has given plenty opportunities for people from backward communities and scheduled castes. I belong to Moily community, which is poor and backward community. I was given scope to become chief minister of the state, Union Minister, MLA, MP and other top posts in the party. The Congress never neglects the SC/STs and it is Congress tradition to give prominence to them,” he added.
