‘Muslims must compromise, not become vote bank of one side’

BENGALURU: Congress legislator R Roshan Baig hit out at the top leaders of his party in Karnataka on Tuesday, calling them names and holding them directly responsible for the dismal performance predicted by the exit polls.
Baig labelled AICC general secretary and Karnataka-in charge K C Venugopal “a buffoon”. “I feel sorry for my leader Rahul Gandhiji,” the Shivajinagr MLA told reporters. “(Because of) Buffoons like Venugopal, arrogant attitude of Siddaramaiah and flop show of KPCC chief Dinesh Gundurao, the result is this.”
Appealing to Muslims to “compromise with the situation”, he said, “We should not be sacrificed. We should not remain like cattle. We should not become vote bank of one side.” Baig’s son Ruman Baig, also said in a tweet: “Congress has created a fear psychosis among minorities. They’ve created a narrative that minorities should feel guilty if they decide to vote for BJP. But in reality, Congress leadership just uses the minority votebank as asafety cushion.”
Baig, a senior MLA, also slammed former CM Siddarmaiah for “dividing” the Hindu society by attempting to give a separate religion tag to the Lingayat community and “abusing” the Vokkaliga community during his tenure in the top post.
Although speculation is rife that Baig is in talks with BJP, he insisted: “As of now I am in Congress. I have not decided about the future.”