THE RAJANNA EPISODE: A TEST OF CONGRESS’S INTEGRITY

 The old Kannada saying hodeya pischachi endare bande gavaksheeli  seems to have come alive in Karnataka politics. Reports suggest that efforts are underway within the ruling Congress to rehabilitate K. N. Rajanna, the discredited Scheduled Caste leader from Tumkur and a close associate of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Rajanna was removed from the cabinet after his outrageous public remarks put the Congress itself in an embarrassing position. Long before that, he had been caught in the shadow of a sex scandal and faced serious corruption charges in the cooperative department, which he once headed. It was only after the party high command’s intervention that he was shown the door — much against the Chief Minister’s personal inclination.

Now, months later, attempts are being made to bring him back into the fold. Media reports indicate that both the Chief Minister and the Home Minister attended a private dinner hosted by Rajanna, seen as a political gesture of support to “help him out of the mess.” Naturally, this has triggered unease within the Congress camp. Many wonder why the party, with a large pool of younger, credible leaders, is so anxious to rehabilitate an 80-year-old leader tainted by controversy.

The larger question, however, is one of political consistency. How can the Congress, which never misses an opportunity to criticise the BJP for accommodating tainted leaders, justify the same behaviour within its own ranks? There cannot be one set of moral standards for the BJP and another for the Congress. Political ethics cannot be caste-based or convenience-driven.

The Kannada proverb `uppu thindava neeru kudiyale beku’  carries timeless wisdom — meaning that those who commit wrongs must face the consequences. Political rehabilitation without remorse or reform is not an act of generosity; it is a reward for wrongdoing.

If the Congress goes ahead with this ill-advised attempt to restore Rajanna, it risks eroding public confidence and handing the opposition a moral victory. The issue is not whether Rajanna deserves another chance, but whether the Congress can afford to compromise its credibility for the sake of loyalty and caste arithmetic. After easing out H Y Meti from ministry in 2017 following a  sex scandal, the then CM Siddaramaiah never took him back into the cabinet. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander"  

In the end, this is not about one man’s comeback — it is about the Congress party’s moral compass. If that compass starts spinning, the path to public trust will quickly disappear.

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