Bengaluru: Education, they say, is a potent weapon to rise above petty politics. But HD Revanna, son of former PM HD Deve Gowda and a PWD minister in his brother HD Kumaraswamy’s Cabinet in Karnataka might beg to differ. In what comes as a cheap statement, Revanna has not minced words in politicising the SSLC results.

This time, Hassan ranks first in the list of highest pass percentage, while Dakshina Kannada, which holds the honours generally, has slipped to the fifth position. Incidentally, Hassan also happens to be the native of the Deve Gowda family.

HD Revanna said, “Dakshina Kannada has slipped to the fifth position. They have voted for the BJP. That is the reason the district has slipped to the fifth position. Had they voted for secular parties, they could have done better.”

Obviously, such a statement has not cut ice with the opposition parties. The BJP lampooned his behaviour.

“But for Revanna, there wouldn’t have been ground water or borewells or no Hemavathi water or even oxygen for Hassan district. So I think Revanna is responsible for everything in Hassan district. His statement looks absurd,” says Shreenath Sheshadri, a BJP spokesperson.

The issue doesn’t stop here. Revanna also took a jibe at Rohini Sindhuri, the former deputy commissioner of Hassan, who has played a pivotal role in uplifting the academic prospects of the state, with her meticulous planning and execution of academic ideas.

Revanna said that it was his wife Bhavani Revanna, who worked hard as the president of the education standing committee and Rohini should not take credit for the district’s achievement.

However, the BJP had a different take on the issue.

“His wife’s contribution for the education in the district is nothing more than a zero. It looks like a family feud. He is trying to improve his wife’s political chances and there is nothing more than that,” added Shreenath Sheshadri, the BJP spokesperson.