Will redeem dad’s legacy: Geetha Shivarajkumar

Bengaluru: Setting her apart from your typical neta, Geetha Shivarajkumar, trying her luck these Lok Sabha elections as a JD(S) candidate in Shimoga, refuses to talk ill of her opponents in the constituency and claims her only agenda is to complete her father, the late S Bangarappa's unfinished work.

At a Meet the Press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore and the Bangalore Reporters' Guild here on Tuesday, Mrs Geetha, who was accompanied by her star husband, refused to go to town on the corruption charges against her main opponent and former chief minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, or take on BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, or even her brother, Kumar Bangarappa.

Beyond referring to Mr Yeddyurappa as a senior leader, she had nothing more to say about him and on her brother, all she said was, "He is in another political set-up and has his own way of handling issues." As for herself she said, "I am going to people with Mr Bangarappa's legacy. My father did a lot for the district and had many dreams for it, which remain unfinished. Our family will carry out those dreams and take forward his work."

Her actor husband, Shivarajkumar was equally firm that they were not here to merely run down their opponents to get ahead. But what if politics forced his wife to take some wrong decisions? "If she is forced into such a situation, I will ask her to resign before she goes any further. There are thousands of ways to make money. Our family respects people as we owe them what we have. Betraying their trust is unacceptable to us,'' he shot back.

When reminded that as a politician, his wife would have to face her share of controversies, he remained unflappable, saying, "I and my family are ready for such eventualities. It is a part and parcel of the field, we have to face this sort of thing.''

Maintaining it was entirely his wife's idea to enter politics, he said she had his full backing, however. “When the offer came, I asked her what she wanted and supported her in her decision. Everyone tries to see her only as Dr Rajkumar's daughter-in-law, but the truth is she is also Mr Bangarappa's daughter. Contrary to rumours that our family was opposed to Geetha's entry into politics, everyone has supported her,'' he asserted.

Agreeing that his father , the late Kannada movie icon, Dr Rajkumar, had his reservations about politics and never wanted to enter it himself, he clarified, “That does not mean he hated politics or politicians. If that was so he would not have got a daughter-in-law from a political family.'' As for his own political ambitions, Mr Shivarajkumar said he had none.

"I am very short tempered. If I feel some injustice is being done, I may beat up somebody. I will not fit into that field , the film industry is my forte."