Former Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Pramod Madhwaraj tendered his resignation from the party on Saturday, May 7. The leader from Udupi district in Karnataka was previously the Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports in the cabinet of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
"Due to the circumstances, I have reached a point wherein it's becoming impossible for me to continue in the Congress party and to do justice to the new post that has been assigned to me recently. Hence, I have decided not to accept the post of vice-presidentship of KPCC and also to tender my resignation to the primary membership of the Congress party," a letter issued by Pramod Madhwaraj read.
My Resignation to Congress Party pic.twitter.com/SIoVGYaMEN
— Pramod Madhwaraj (@PMadhwaraj) May 7, 2022
He further said that he had endured a bad experience with the Congress party in Udupi. "I regret to inform you that since the last three years the situation in the Udupi district Congress party has been a bad experience for me thus leading to political suffocation and the facts of which have been brought to your kind notice and informed to other party leaders by me. I have observed that no worthwhile steps have been taken by the party to redress my grievances regarding the prevailing situation in the Udupi district Congress party," Pramod Madhwaraj said in the letter.
He was first elected as MLA of Udupi from the Congress in 2013 defeating B Sudhakar Shetty of the BJP. In his tenure as MLA, he was elevated to the position of Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports. He was credited with increasing diesel subsidies and improving conditions for the fishing industry in the state. He was also the district in-charge minister of Udupi in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
He later lost to Raghupathi Bhat of the BJP, in the 2018 Assembly elections and unsuccessfully contested on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. During the controversy over wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka which began at a government college in Udupi, Pramod Madhwaraj had declined to comment on the issue.