MANGALURU: The contrast between Dakshina Kannada topping the SSLC results and Kalaburagi finishing last has triggered a political row, with the BJP criticising RDPR and IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge over his earlier remarks on the coastal district.

The development comes months after Priyank linked communal tensions in Dakshina Kannada to a dip in investment inflow, comments that had drawn sharp criticism from BJP leaders at the time.

Y Bharath Shetty, Mangaluru North City MLA, criticised Priyank and questioned his priorities. Referring to the SSLC rankings, Shetty said Dakshina Kannada’s consistent academic performance stands in contrast to Kalaburagi’s results and urged the minister to focus on improving education standards in his own district.

“Dakshina Kannada has excelled in education, healthcare and infrastructure. The minister should concentrate on uplifting his district rather than targeting ours,” Shetty said.

The Dakshina Kannada district BJP unit also issued a statement congratulating students while criticising the situation in Kalaburagi. District BJP spokesperson Arun G Shet alleged that despite decades of political representation by Priyank’s family, the district has not achieved meaningful progress in education.

He further accused the minister of deflecting attention from local shortcomings by repeatedly targeting Dakshina Kannada and organisations such as the RSS.

Describing such remarks as provocative, the BJP urged Priyank to introspect and focus on development in his constituency, stating that the SSLC results reflect deeper governance concerns.

This story is reported by Vincent D’ Souza