On Wednesday, May 10, Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar insinuated that the people of Uttar Pradesh and other parts of North India are “fools” as they voted Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to power. DK Shivakumar made these remarks during an India Today show discussing the exit polls which predicted 122-140 seats for the Congress party and 62-80 for the BJP.
Rahul Kanwal questioned if DK Shivakumar was genuinely concerned or shaken when the BJP did a last week campaigning and the “Bajrang Dal versus Bajrang Bali moment came”. Kanwal asked this question in the backdrop of the Congress manifesto wherein it promised to ban Bajrang Dal, however, the move was met with severe backlash and Congress leaders like Veerappa Moily had to do damage control.
Reacting to the question if he was for a moment shaken after the Bajrang Dal row, DK Shivakumar said, “They (BJP) picked up that issue, the media picked it up, but that is not the issue. The issue is a government with governance, the issue is price rise, that is the local issue, you see Karnataka is not like, you can not fool people here like UP and other parts of North India.
Taking strong objection to this, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla who was also present on the show, said, “His (DK Shivakumar) comment on the people of UP that they are fools is extremely unwholesome. I want to officially put a point on that the people of UP are not fools because they voted for the BJP.”
Poonawalla also pointed out that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is elected from Uttar Pradesh. “I don’t know if Sonia Gandhi is watching this because she is elected from UP,” the BJP spokesperson said.
DK Shivkumar of Congress on a show with me labels people of UP, North India as “fools” as they voted BJP
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) May 10, 2023
I took strong objection & asked if Sonia Gandhi who herself is elected from UP agrees
This is despicable arrogance on display! Rahul Gandhi has also abused & insulted North… pic.twitter.com/oeTV4M85Li
“DK Shivkumar of Congress on a show with me labels people of UP, North India as “fools” as they voted BJP I took strong objection & asked if Sonia Gandhi who herself is elected from UP agrees This is despicable arrogance on display! Rahul Gandhi has also abused & insulted North Indians earlier, Poonawalla tweeted.
It is notable that the exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in the state, with a close fight between the BJP and Congress to emerge as the political party with the highest number of seats in the polls.
