Taunting the Congress top leaders over AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge recalling missing out on the opportunity to become Chief Minister, the BJP on Monday alleged that the Congress high command always believed in tokenism and not transformation.Taking to social media, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok remarked: âCongress leader Rahul Gandhi lectures the nation on nyay. Is this your nyay, Mr. Rahul Gandhi? Will you start by conducting a Dalit census in your own party leadership? Or are Dalits only tools for election speeches, not for real power?âHe further alleged that âevery time a Dalit rises in the Congress, the Gandhi family ensures he is pulled down.âBJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra said Mr. Kharge had made a poignant statement that even after independence, marginalised communities have been used by the Congress as a vote bank without giving them true justice â a fact that many have now come to recognise.He said Mr. Kharge had openly shared his pain and disappointment with the people of the state. âMr. Khargeâs comments have indirectly exposed how the Gandhi family, the Congress, and Siddaramaiah have been unjust to Scheduled Castes and Tribes,â he maintained.Insult to KrishnaMeanwhile Mr. Ashok alleged that Mr. Khargeâs statement that the post of Chief Minister went to S.M. Krishna after the 1999 Assembly polls in Karnataka even though he had worked hard amounted to âinsultingâ the late Chief Minister.Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Monday, Mr. Ashok pointed out that Krishna would have replied to Mr. Kharge had he been alive. âDoes anyone criticise a person after his death? It amounts to insulting Krishna,â the BJP leader said, before pointing out that Krishna too had toiled hard to bring the party to power by taking a Panchajanya Yatra across the State before the Assembly elections.Published - July 28, 2025 09:27 pm IST