Hit him for his mistake, clarifies D.K Shivakumar

Bengaluru: A day after facing flak for hitting his co-worker, State Congress President D.K Shivakumar clarified that he was not only correcting the youngster who had put his hand on his shoulder.

"He is a boy belonging to our house, and is also a distant relative of mine. I scolded him saying what others would think, seeing him put his hand on my shoulder. Yes, it's true that I hit him," he said.

Shivakumar said that when youngsters do such acts they are bound to correct them and the media was making a leader of the young boy. On the issue of caste based census he stated that hundreds of crores have been spent for Caste-based census. "Hence, leaders from the backward class met me and said it should not go to waste. There is nothing wrong in their demand.

I don't know what is there in that report. I can't speak like other leaders on this matter. I am in the position of a party President. Me, along with the opposition party leaders will discuss with everyone. First, we shall learn what is BJP's stand on this. When asked, they replied that the report hadn't been submitted and they were unaware of this," Shivakumar added.

Reacting to the fracas created over the cracks in KRS dam the government has stated that the dam was safe. Shivakumar said that he has served as the irrigation minister, and was the district in-charge for Mandya district in Siddaramaiah's Government.

"Nobody had discussed illegal mining during my tenure. No damage will happen if gravel stones are manufactured 10-15 kms away. There is a Mining Ministry to take up this responsibility. The Geological department is monitoring too. There are hundreds of engineers on site. They will manage it. We shouldn't create unnecessary anxiety amongst the people. I'll not engage in such publicity seeking cheap stunts nor tolerate them. Moreover, this is a sensitive issue. KRS is the property of the country. We shouldn't create panic over it," he said.