Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol on Friday, 23 October 2025, levelled serious allegations against the ruling Congress government in Karnataka, claiming that the practice of untouchability had not been eradicated under its watch. Karjol cited the alleged denial of entry to three Dalit Ministers — Shivaraj Tangadagi, P.M. Narendra Swamy, and K.S. Basavanthappa — at a place of worship during the recent Mysuru Dasara celebrations as evidence of his charge.

The Alleged Incident at Mysuru Dasara

Speaking at the state BJP office Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru, Karjol alleged that the three Ministers were refused entry on the grounds that their presence would 'pollute' the premises. He described the incident not merely as a breach of protocol but as an active instance of untouchability being practised. Karjol noted that Tangadagi holds the Kannada and Culture portfolio and should have been accorded due respect at a state cultural event of such prominence as Dasara.

He further pointed out that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Karnataka Congress President B.K. Hariprasad had previously taken credit for appointing Basavanthappa — the son of a pourakarmika (civic sanitation worker) — as a Minister. 'However, the same person was now allegedly being treated like a sanitation worker,' Karjol charged. He accused Hariprasad of remaining silent over the episode despite having regularly accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP of being 'anti-Dalit'.

BJP's Political Challenge to Congress Leadership

Karjol challenged Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to publicly clarify whether the Congress was a secular or communal party. He noted an apparent contradiction: Congress leaders, including Kharge, had repeatedly accused the BJP of following a Manusmriti-inspired ideology, yet had not spoken out on the alleged humiliation of their own Dalit Ministers.

Calling the Congress a party with a 'dirty mindset', Karjol alleged that it had historically humiliated Dalit icons, including B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, and Babu Jagjivan Ram. He also alleged that constitutional amendments pushed by the Congress had served its own narrow interests rather than the welfare of Dalits or the broader public. In contrast, he credited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with amending the Constitution specifically to benefit Dalits and for institutionalising reservation for the community.

Responding to Queries on the Entry Denial

When asked whether a police officer could have independently decided to deny the Minister-in-charge of the Kannada and Culture Department entry to the venue, Karjol was emphatic: 'This could not have been the decision of a police officer alone.' He termed the incident a failure of the state government and alleged that the government itself was complicit in the act of untouchability.

Sting Operation Controversy: CBI Probe Demanded

Separately, Karjol also addressed the ongoing sting operation controversy roiling Karnataka politics. He described the release of sting videos as an 'unhealthy practice' and called on elected representatives to conduct themselves as examples to society. At the same time, he alleged that 'blackmail politics' had intensified in the state, and that the sting operation had damaged the reputation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who, he said, had served in politics with dignity for 50 years.

Karjol demanded that the state government hand over the investigation into the sting operation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or commission a probe by a sitting or retired judge. As the political fallout from both controversies deepens, the Congress government in Karnataka faces mounting pressure to respond to both the alleged Dasara incident and the sting operation claims.