100 Congress Bhavanas to be built in Karnataka, says D. K. Shivakumar

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said here on Friday that foundation stones to build 100 Congress Bhavanas (offices of Congress) across the State will be laid by next month.

Speaking to media persons at Mangaluru International Airport, Mr. Shivakumar said, “Whether the All India Congress Committee (AICC) gives a date (for laying foundation stones) or not, I will make all the preparations and start.”

“I will complete six years as the KPCC president on March 10. In this context, constructing buildings for party offices across the State will begin,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister later in the evening laid the foundation stone for building the Congress Bhavan in Puttur. Asked about the allegation that Muslims were not invited to the foundation stone laying ceremony at Puttur, he said, “Congress does politics based not on caste, but on policy. We need people of all castes and religions. We do not do politics on caste and religion. There should be religion in politics, and there should not be politics in religion. This is the ideology of our party.”

Mr. Shivakumar met senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary by visiting his house at Bantwal on his way to Kanchana, in Puttur taluk, where he attended the 72nd Kanchanotsava, a musical programme. He also inaugurated a dining hall and a conference hall of Kanchana Shree Lakshminarayana Music Academy Trust.