Bengaluru, 8 July

Chikkaballapur BJP MP and former minister K Sudhakar,  on Monday clarified that he was unaware of who distributed liquor at the thanksgiving event organised for the Nelamangala voters in Bengaluru rural district on Sunday.

Speaking to the reporters, he said, “I was invited to the meeting by the party local unit. I returned along with the State leaders after the event. I was not aware about the liquor distribution.”

“Taluk BJP and JD(S) workers had organised the event and they had invited me and Leader of Opposition Ashoka. We came out after attending the meeting. Whatever happened after the event, I came to know through the media,” he said.

Sudhakar further said in his political career spanning over two decades he has never indulged in booze distribution to garner votes or to thank the voters. He said that previously he has made his stand clear on liquor distribution by political parties and has always opposed the practice. 

On Sunday, videos from the event surfaced showing liquor packets and bottles being distributed, prompting long queues as attendees collected their drinks under the watch of police personnel. The footage quickly went viral on social media, drawing immediate backlash from the Opposition party.

Reacting to the incident, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar demanded “answers” from BJP President JP Nadda on the issue. “I don’t want local (BJP) leaders to reply to it. I want the BJP national President to reply to it. It is the culture of the BJP,” he told reporters here.

However, BJP workers claim that in a letter to the local police on 3 July, BJP Nelamangala President Jagadish Chaudhary had mentioned that the event would include “food and liquor”. The permission was sought from the Eexcise Department. 

Speaking to Salar News, Excise Department Commissioner J Ravishankar said, “Everyone is quoting that the Excise department has given permission but we never issued permission for the party. I have spoken to the Deputy Commissioner and he said the permission was given for one day.”

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Youth Congress Committee staged a protest on Monday noting that the BJP culture has been exposed to the terrible culture of the BJP party, and the background of misusing the saffron flag.                  —Salar News with Agencies