04-03-2008, 10:09 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Blow to Congress as Lingayat leader quits </b>
Pioneer.com
PT Bopanna | Bangalore
<b>In a major setback for the Congress, a senior Lingayat leader from Mysore and former Minister M Mahadevu on Wednesday resigned </b>from the Congress protesting against the ill-treatment meted out to party loyalists.
<b>Mahadevu was assaulted by senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah at a party convention a few months ago when the former stated that loyalists were being marginalised in the party at the expense of "migrants", </b>referring to the fact that Siddaramaiah who had joined the party from the JD (S) was making things difficult for loyalists.
Announcing his resignation at Mysore, Mahadevu said, "I only suggested to Siddharamaiah to work to strengthen the party instead of fighting for power. But Siddharamaiah indulged in goondagiri. I had shown the CDs of that incident to both AICC and State level leaders, without much use".
The former Minister accused the Congress of being casteist and claimed the party had sidelined the Lingayat community.
Probably, the last straw which prompted Mahadevu to quit the party which he had served for over 40 years was the fact that he was not invited to meet Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi when he visited Nanjangud last week.
Immediately after Mahadevu's announcement to quit the Congress, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy called on him and invited him to the JD (S). However, Mahadevu was non-committal. The BJP leaders have already met him and Mahadevu is believed to have shown his inclination to join the saffron party
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Pioneer.com
PT Bopanna | Bangalore
<b>In a major setback for the Congress, a senior Lingayat leader from Mysore and former Minister M Mahadevu on Wednesday resigned </b>from the Congress protesting against the ill-treatment meted out to party loyalists.
<b>Mahadevu was assaulted by senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah at a party convention a few months ago when the former stated that loyalists were being marginalised in the party at the expense of "migrants", </b>referring to the fact that Siddaramaiah who had joined the party from the JD (S) was making things difficult for loyalists.
Announcing his resignation at Mysore, Mahadevu said, "I only suggested to Siddharamaiah to work to strengthen the party instead of fighting for power. But Siddharamaiah indulged in goondagiri. I had shown the CDs of that incident to both AICC and State level leaders, without much use".
The former Minister accused the Congress of being casteist and claimed the party had sidelined the Lingayat community.
Probably, the last straw which prompted Mahadevu to quit the party which he had served for over 40 years was the fact that he was not invited to meet Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi when he visited Nanjangud last week.
Immediately after Mahadevu's announcement to quit the Congress, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy called on him and invited him to the JD (S). However, Mahadevu was non-committal. The BJP leaders have already met him and Mahadevu is believed to have shown his inclination to join the saffron party
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