Overview

• D.K. Shivakumar said he is sorry if anyone was hurt by his recital and stressed he is a lifelong Congressman whose loyalty to the Gandhi family cannot be questioned.
• He denied any directive from the Congress high command to apologise, saying no one from the leadership had asked him to do so.
• The August 21 recital occurred during a heated debate on the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede that killed 11 people, drawing desk-thumping approval from BJP MLAs.
• Senior Congress figures, including B.K. Hariprasad, publicly demanded an apology, while colleagues such as H.D. Ranganath and H.C. Mahadevappa argued the act did not imply a shift to the BJP.
• Shivakumar framed the episode as a tactical jab at the Opposition and accused some of misusing it politically, as the BJP continued to spotlight the incident to embarrass the ruling party.