Dharwad, 17 October

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President BK Hariprasad on Saturday said that Congress would fund the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and any other agitation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at protecting the Constitution and democracy.

When asked about Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s remarks that the Congress was “funding the CJP”, Hariprasad replied that “It is our right”.

“Every Congressman will, whatever the contribution we have to make to CJP or any other agitation against Modi and who wants to protect the Constitution and democracy, we will fund them,” Hariprasad said in Dharwad.

Hariprasad’s remarks come a day after Home Minister Priyank Kharge said that the CJP and the Congress were “the same”. 

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka stated on X that he was “not surprised one bit”.

“It is now clear that taxpayers’ money in Congress ruled states and Congress funds are actively being siphoned off to finance politically motivated, anti-India disruption,” he stated. “Is the state government treasury being used as an ATM to finance CJP and destabilise the nation?”

He said that the real goal of the anti-SIR and anti-CEC protests were clear: “Spend whatever it takes to run dishonest, anarchic campaigns against Modi.”

However, Minister Satish Jarkiholi said that there were no links between the Congress and the funding of protests in New Delhi, saying that participants there were bearing their own expenses, indicating that Hariprasad was speaking about possibly funding the CJP, not that it has already happened.