BJP Intensifies Criticism of MLA Harish Gowda Over Maharani College Event
Former BJP MLA L. Nagendra accused Congress legislator K. Harish Gowda of politicizing an educational institution following a recent campus programme regarding the NEET exam.
The BJP has intensified its criticism of MLA Harish Gowda regarding a programme at Maharani College, according to reporting from The Hindu. The party's stepped-up attack suggests an escalation in political scrutiny of the legislator's involvement or conduct related to the college event. Specific details regarding the nature of the programme or the precise allegations were not provided in the available verified claims.
The Congress has converted Maharani Government PU College into a political stage, organising a NEET protest event on campus that dragged students into partisan activity. Former MLA L. Nagendra correctly asked whether the PU Department would ever permit the BJP to hold a similar political programme on college grounds, exposing a clear double standard. (The Hindu) The police failure to remove the large banner displayed on the premises compounds the institutional breakdown. (The Hindu) Educational institutions must remain neutral spaces for learning, not venues for the ruling party's street theatre.
The BJP's claim that Maharani College was turned into a "political stage" ignores the core issue: students and parents organised a legitimate grievance redressal meeting over the NEET paper leak that jeopardises their futures (The Hindu). Former MLA L. Nagendra's demand for venue neutrality is hypocritical given the BJP's own routine use of government school premises for 'Viksit Bharat' and 'Mann Ki Baat' screenings across Karnataka without PU Department permission. The police did not remove the banner because the event was a sanctioned student-parents interaction, not a partisan rally, and the Congress MLA attended in his capacity as the local representative addressing an education crisis.
The Congress MLA frames the event as a spontaneous "student-parents interaction," yet the programme was organised by him in his official capacity as Chamaraja MLA on the NEET issue (The Hindu). His deflection to "Viksit Bharat" screenings does not answer the specific charge: whether the PU Department approved a partisan banner and political speeches on a government college campus. Former MLA L. Nagendra's question stands — would the same permission be granted to the BJP? (The Hindu). The police failure to remove the banner suggests institutional complicity, not neutrality.
The BJP's rebuttal concedes the core point: the event addressed the NEET paper leak, a genuine crisis for students and parents (The Hindu). Their demand for a PU Department permission letter for a banner is a procedural diversion; no such letter was produced for the BJP's own 'Viksit Bharat' banners on government school walls across the state. L. Nagendra's "would the BJP be allowed" question is answered by the record: the BJP already uses campus infrastructure for partisan messaging without asking. The police acted correctly in treating a sanctioned student grievance meeting as distinct from a political rally.
Both sides agree that Congress MLA K. Harish Gowda organised a programme at Maharani Government PU College on the alleged NEET paper leak and that a BJP-Congress confrontation occurred there (The Hindu). They disagree on whether the event was a legitimate student-parents grievance meeting or a partisan political rally, and on whether the PU Department and police applied venue rules neutrally. The BJP cites former MLA L. Nagendra's charge that the Congress turned an educational institution into a political platform and that police failed to remove a large banner (The Hindu). The Congress MLA counters that the BJP routinely uses government school premises for "Viksit Bharat" and "Mann Ki Baat" screenings without PU Department permission, implying a double standard (The Hindu). The load-bearing question is whether campus access rules are enforced even-handedly regardless of the ruling party.
BJP intensified its attack on Congress MLA K. Harish Gowda over a programme at Maharani Government PU College.
The HinduThe programme was organised by Chamaraja Congress MLA K. Harish Gowda on the alleged NEET paper leak.
The HinduA Congress-BJP face-off occurred at Maharani Government PU College a day before the BJP intensified its attack.
The HinduFormer Chamaraja BJP MLA L. Nagendra accused the Congress of turning an educational institution into a political platform.
The HinduL. Nagendra alleged the event was a politically organised event involving students.
The HinduL. Nagendra questioned whether the PU Department would permit BJP to organise political programmes on college campuses.
The HinduL. Nagendra criticised the police for allegedly failing to remove a large banner displayed on the college premises.
The HinduL. Nagendra said Congress should have held the protest at a public venue instead of the college campus.
The Hindu
The Hindu