Bangarappa lends pitch to ‘origin’ issue, son quits BJP

Former chief minister S. Bangarappa on Thursday expressed his solidarity with party president Venkaiah Naidu, who favours a Constitutional amendment to stop people of foreign origin from holding high posts in the country. Defending his stand to dump his elder son Kumar Bangarappa for his younger son Madhu Bangarappa, the official BJP candidate from Sorab, Bangarappa said that out of 1.25 lakh voters in Sorab, about 65 people wanted Kumar to contest, while the rest supported Madhu.

Meanwhile, Kumar announced that he would quit the BJP, within three weeks of joining it. Kumar said he was hurt by his father’s ‘‘action’’ and dubbed the BJP a ‘‘communal party’’.