Koujalgi lambasts 'enemies' within party

By A. Jayaram

BANGALORE, APRIL 16. Startled and embarrassed Ministers and State Congress leaders today heard the former PCC President, Mr. V. S. Koujalgi, calling his enemies within the party pickpockets and vowing to wage a war against them.

Mr. Koujalgi's bitterness about the circumstances leading to his ouster was in full evidence on the occasion of his handing over the presidentship of the PCC to Mr. Allum Veerabhadrappa here this afternoon. It also brought to the fore the deep fissures that have developed in the ruling Congress in the State over the Koujalgi tapes issue.

However, the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, openly disapproved of what Mr. Koujalgi said and bluntly told him to wage a war against the BJP and not those in the Congress. This mollified many of those hurt by Mr. Koujalgi's attack. At one point in his strident speech, Mr. Koujalgi also remarked that a PCC President need not be a rubber stamp of the Chief Minister.

Mr. Koujalgi lashed out against those within the party whom he accused of masterminding the bribe-taking scandal against him even as a steady drizzle drenched most of those present on the occasion. By then a part of the shamiana had collapsed following heavy rain. The former PCC President, who is known for his gentle speech, was on the warpath today. He went on to say that those who had conspired against him were seated right in front of him. ``My enemies could not face me''. Some of those on the dais were found murmuring among themselves. The Minister for Major Irrigation, Mr. H. K. Patil, whom Mr. Koujalgi has identified as one of those responsible for the videotape scandal, was seated in the front row.

Mr. Koujalgi began by saying that last month he attended the kissan rally organised by the AICC President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, in Delhi. While coming out of the rally, his pocket was picked by someone. But such pickpockets were there in the State Congress.

He dubbed the allegation against him as a conspiracy against himself and the Chief Minister. He first heard of the conspiracy while on a visit to Bagalkot. Those illdisposed towards him became green with envy after the successful conduct of last month's AICC Plenary session in Bangalore. Mr. Koujalgi said that some persons in the party were daydreaming of growing big. He only wanted them to realise their limitations. They exploited the atmosphere created by the Tehelka tape scam to mount an attack on him.

The people would very soon come to know of the truth behind the allegation of bribe-taking against him. Newspapers published some hazy photographs purported to substantiate the allegation against him. Much before that, he had himself explained to the Lokayukta regarding the allegation. Mr. Koujalgi said that he would expose his enemies within the party. He had participated in the 1965 war against Pakistan and would now wage a war against his enemies in the party. Mr. Koujalgi bitterly said that it did not matter whether he was the PCC President or not. He would always remain with the party workers. He would also face the allegation against him boldly.

After pledging to cooperate with Mr. Veerabhadrappa, Mr. Koujalgi ended his speech and his nine-month presidentship of the KPCC with a ``beware of pickpockets'' advice to Congressmen.

The reaction of some of the leaders on the dais after the function ended and Mr. Veerabhadrappa was being mobbed and garlanded by admirers from Kurugodu and other parts of Bellary District, was that while there could be doubts about the authenticity of the Koujalgi tapes, there could be no two opinions on his speech: it was in bad taste.

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