AHINDA silver jubilee meet praises Siddaramaiah

 Bengaluru: The AHINDA movement (Kannada acronym that stands for Alpasankhyataru (Minorities), Hindulidavaru (Backward Classes), and Dalitaru (Dalits) marked 25 years with a silver jubilee convention at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, where former chief minister Siddaramaiah was felicitated. However, the absence of senior Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi, who had played a key role in the early years of the movement, became a talking point at the event.

The convention was organised by the Karnataka State Federation of Backward Classes and AHINDA activists to mark 25 years of the movement. Siddaramaiah was honoured during the programme for his role in championing the interests of backward classes, minorities and Dalits.

Jarkiholi, however, was not invited to the convention. Former minister HC Mahadevappa, another prominent associate of Siddaramaiah during the AHINDA movement, was also reportedly not invited.

Jarkiholi had earlier acknowledged differences with Siddaramaiah and, reacting to his absence from the event, said he did not attend because he had not been invited.

The development has triggered discussion within political circles, given the close association between Siddaramaiah and Jarkiholi during the formative years of the AHINDA movement. Jarkiholi had stood by Siddaramaiah when the latter launched and expanded the movement and later shifted his political alignment from the JD(S) to the Congress.

Speaking after receiving the felicitation, Siddaramaiah clarified that he had not withdrawn from active politics because of his age. He said electoral politics had become expensive but maintained that he would remain active in public life and continue fighting alongside people. AHINDA federation president Ramachandrappa urged Siddaramaiah to contest the next election. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, meanwhile, said the ideology of AHINDA, the Congress and Rahul Gandhi was aligned. The absence of Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa from an event commemorating the movement they were associated with has added a political dimension to the silver jubilee celebrations.