Bengaluru, May 29 (IANS) A day after Siddaramaiah resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister, former CM and veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily asserted that there is no question of the former feeling aggrieved for stepping down since the party has always given him “due respect and privilege”.

Speaking to IANS, Moily said: “He (Siddaramaiah) served as Chief Minister for practically two terms, since there were only two years left in one of them. It was only after he joined the Congress that he became Chief Minister. So, the Congress gave him the opportunity: One full term and then another three years.”

The veteran politician mentioned that Siddaramaiah also served as the Leader of the Opposition within the Congress party. “He was not originally in the Congress, but the party absorbed him and gave him respectable positions. So, there is no question of anyone feeling aggrieved, because he received all the legitimate privileges that the Congress gave him and was treated with respect,” he added.

Moily maintained that the party High Command also gave “all respect” to Siddaramaiah. “It was only after convincing him, that he has to give up (the post) for D.K. Shivakumar, to which he voluntarily agreed,” he asserted.

He reiterated: “So there is no question of hurting him. In fact, legitimate respect and position have been given (to him) by the Congress.”

According to Veerappa Moily, Congress is the only party which always gives due recognition to its senior leaders.

He said: “I have been a Chief Minister there, S. Bangarappa has been a Chief Minister, and so has D. Devaraj Urs. The Congress has always recognised the senior leaders.”

However, he alleged that the JD(S) and BJP “always look after themselves”.

Referring to JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda, the Congress leader said: “The JD(S) looked after itself.”

He further said: “The BJP has looked after itself, whether B.S. Yediyurappa or Basavaraj Bommai or someone like D.V. Sadananda Gowda, they never really looked after others.”

“In the BJP, there are only 16 MLAs from the OBC community. Rest are all from major communities except some Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes,” he claimed.

He again underlined that it is only the Congress which has always given “political legitimacy”, and not the BJP.

–IANS

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