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Bangarappa quits Congress

The Congress suffered a jolt when former Karnataka chief minister S Bangarappa resigned from its primary membership, protesting against the sorry state of affairs in the party.

Bangarappa, a Lok Sabha member from Shimoga, said he would be launch a new party -- the Karnataka Vikas Party -- on December 11.

He said he would keep his options 'open' on future alliances with other political parties in the state.

Bangarappa's latest association with the Congress did not last even a year. He had merged his Karnataka Congress Party with the Congress on December 15 last year.

He said the Congress's image had dipped further after it withdrew support to the United Front government on the basis of the Jain Commission report. He said the party was going downhill and its president Sitaram Kesri should be held responsible for the present position.

In his letter to Kesri, Bangarappa accused him of creating 'groupism' in all state units of the party. As there is a failure of leadership at the top, workers and leaders were fed up with the situation prevailing within the party. Hence he was quitting the party.

In his one-page resignation letter, Bangarappa said the Congress president had failed to respect his own statement that he would be handed the state party reins after he rejoined the Congress in December 1996. ''If he has no respect for his own statement, how can he expect others to respect his statement?'' he asked.

UNI

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