Liquor allegedly served at BJP MP K Sudhakar's victory celebration programme; Cong targets BJP

Bengaluru: Liquor bottles were allegedly distributed to people who attended a thanksgiving programme organised to celebrate the victory of BJP's K Sudhakar from Chikkaballapura Lok Sabha segment, according to sources.

Videos of people being handed liquor bottles with police personnel and "bouncers" around managing the crowd amid barricades, have gone viral on social media.

According to sources, leaders, workers and supporters of BJP's alliance partner JD(S) also attended the event on Sunday, near here, organised by local BJP leaders, where non-vegetarian food was also served.

Opposition Leader in the Assembly R Ashoka and other BJP and JD(S) leaders had taken part in the stage event.

According to official sources, the excise department had given the licence to serve liquor at the event.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday demanded "answers" from BJP President J P Nadda on the liquor serving issue.

"I don't want local (BJP) leaders to reply to it. I want the BJP national President to reply to it. It is the culture of the BJP," he told reporters here.

Asked whether any case will be booked, he said: "That is the next point, first let the party (BJP) answer to it."

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, in a tweet, said, "Saying one thing doing another....BJP leaders are busy distributing liquor while the state is dengue-stricken. Where are the BJP leaders who questioned me swimming at the swimming pool when I visited Mangalore (Mangaluru)? Is this your culture?"

ಹೇಳುವುದು ಒಂದು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಇನ್ನೊಂದು, ನಂಬುವುದು ಹೇಗೋ ಕಾಣೆ....
ರಾಜ್ಯ ಡೆಂಗಿ ಪೀಡಿತವಾಗಿರುವಾಗ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ನಾಯಕರು ಮದ್ಯ ಹಂಚಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರತರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಾನು ಮಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಾಗ ಈಜು ಕೊಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಈಜಿದ್ದನ್ನೇ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ನಾಯಕರು ಈಗೆಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ ? ಇದೇನಾ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಂಸ್ಕ್ರತಿ ?@DrSudhakar_ @BJP4Karnataka pic.twitter.com/RK67AQhFxx

— Dinesh Gundu Rao/ದಿನೇಶ್ ಗುಂಡೂರಾವ್ (@dineshgrao) July 7, 2024

Stating that he has nothing to do with the incident and is pained, MP Sudhakar said whoever has organised distribution of liquor, whether it is BJP or JD(S) workers, it is "wrong", and it will be ensured that such things are not repeated.

"Taluk BJP and JD(S) workers had organised the event and they had invited me and Leader of Opposition Ashoka. We came out after attending the meeting. Whatever happened after the event, I came to know through the media," he said.

" I'm not aware whether the organisers of the event distributed liquor or whether the attendees consumed it....In my 20 years of political life I have never done politics by distributing liquor. It should not be done, it is unpardonable, I have told everyone," Sudhakar, a former Karnataka Health Minister, added.