The State committee of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene has dismissed Kodihalli Chandrashekhar as president of the organisation in view of recent allegations against him. This was decided at a meeting convened in Shivamogga on Tuesday. H.R. Basavarajappa, who was honorary president of the organisation, has been appointed president of both the organizations.
Mr. Basavarajappa, speaking to media after the meeting, said that there had been serious allegations against Mr. Chandrashekhar. He had not denied the allegations in the press conference he addressed in Bengaluru. “We were expecting that he would resign following the allegations. However, he said he would not. Hence, we have taken a decision to dismiss him,” Mr. Basavarajappa said.
Mr. Basavarajappa said it was an unanimous decision. The committee would also urge the State government to hold an inquiry into the allegations against Mr. Chandrashekhar. “Besides, the committee has formed a five-member fact-finding team to look into the issue,” he said.
Mr. Chandrashekhar, who had been with the Raitha Sangha since the days of its founder M.D. Nanjudaswamy, attracted controversy after he took the leadership of KSRTC employees’ strike in 2021.
A sting operation recently aired by a Kannada news channel alleged that he was into a ‘deal’ for a huge sum to end the strike. He was shown making allegations against many people including Rakesh Singh Tikait, who led the Delhi farm protests, in the video. Mr. Chandrashekhar, as shown in the video, claimed that Mr. Tikait was trying to broker an end to the protest by taking money. Mr. Tikait was attacked by a group of three men in Bengaluru on Monday, while he was addressing the media on the allegations against him.
