Karnataka CM tussle: Minister HC Mahadevappa calls fellow partymen ‘street dogs’; triggers fresh slugfest in Congress

BENGALURU: A political slugfest has erupted after social welfare minister HC Mahadevappa allegedly likened party colleagues to "street dogs", triggering sharp reactions within Congress amid a tussle for the chief minister post between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.

Mahadevappa, considered close to Siddaramaiah, made the remarks Monday while replying to questions about a possible change of CM. "Where is the discussion on leadership change? High court has said catch street dogs and cage them. Here, the leadership is strong," Mahadevappa said in Kannada, prompting reporters to ask: "How are dogs and leadership related? Do you mean to say you have to shut up those who are talking in public?"



Asked whether MLAs and ministers were awaiting clear directions from the party high command in New Delhi, Mahadevappa said, "High command must give us instructions and not the other way round. Can the tail wag the dog?"

On Tuesday, Mahadevappa sought to clarify his remarks, saying he was only citing a court order. "I was only referring to what the high court said. I do not know how you people perceive it," he said.

Shivakumar, deputy CM and party state president, refused to comment on Mahadevappa's remarks, saying: "I don't want to ready not just to him, but anybody's remarks," he said.

However, Shivakumar's brother and former MP DK Suresh reacted sharply, saying loyal party workers should not be equated to street dogs. "Loyal Congress members are not strays. They have the quality of repaying debts of gratitude, just like dogs. Whether it is a street dog or a pet dog, it always remains loyal and repays its owner," he said.

Congress MLA Shivaganga Basavaraj also criticised the remarks as inappropriate. "Both the tail and the dog are ours. If we feel bad about the tail, then the dog won't have any value. It's only apt if the dog wags its tail. He's a senior functionary and should not have spoken that way," Basavaraj said.

He said he was unsure of the context but added that drawing parallels between MLAs and stray dogs was not right. "If he's calling MLAs stray dogs then he's also a legislator. What does it make him?" he asked.

Previously, Congress MLC BK Hariprasad likened Shivakumar to a railway engine. "Shivakumar is like an engine taking along the entire train, but when it reaches a destination, he makes lots of noise and rouses vendors over there," he said.

Opposition leader in the legislative council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy took a swipe at Mahadevappa, saying, "the statement construes that all functionaries in Congress are dogs." He added, "Congress functionaries like dogs very much. Mahadevappa has subtly explained whether the dog is wagging its tail or tail is wagging the dog."

Sources say Mahadevappa had referred to those fuelling public dissent as "street dogs" that need to be restrained, and that his remarks were aimed at dismissing the influence of lower-rung functionaries on national strategy.