Would he be Karnataka Home Minister without his father? Priyank Kharge answers

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge acknowledged that being Mallikarjun Kharge's son gave him a "springboard" in politics, but said performance ultimately mattered. He defended his record and questioned why BJP's B Y Vijayendra faced fewer questions over his rise. Kharge also outlined a proposed expert-led mechanism to tackle misinformation without curbing free speech.‘I’m proud to be Mr Kharge’s son’: Priyank on nepotism questionKarnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday acknowledged that being Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son gave him a “springboard” in politics but said his performance would ultimately determine whether he stayed in public life.Asked at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable whether he was a “nepo kid” and whether he would have become Home Minister had he not been Mallikarjun Kharge's son, Priyank Kharge said there was no denying the advantage his family background had given him.“You get the springboard. There is no denying. Neta ho ya abhineta ho, if you don't perform, you're out,” he said.Kharge said the opportunity alone was not what mattered, arguing that people would ultimately judge him on what he had done with it. “People will decide whether I am good or not. What I have done with the opportunity is important. Have I performed?” he said.He added that he was proud to be Mallikarjun Kharge's son and said his performance had the backing of both the Congress high command and state leadership. “The High Command thinks so, my state leaders think so, and I am extremely proud about being Mr Kharge's son,” he said.Kharge then questioned why similar questions were not being raised about BJP state president B Y Vijayendra. “Why are these questions not posed to Mr Vijayendra? How come a first-time MLA has become the BJP president in Karnataka and a four-time MLA becoming an IT minister is a problem?” he asked.ON CYBERCRIME, FAKE NEWSDuring the interview, Kharge also spoke about cybercrime and the Karnataka government's proposed response to misinformation, malinformation and fake news, which he described as among the biggest threats to democracy.He said Karnataka, home to the country's largest technology cluster, was conducting a massive awareness drive on cybercrime, which he said was no longer limited to urban areas and had reached villages as well. He also claimed that the state had among the highest rates of solving cybercrime cases.Kharge said the government had conducted a pilot for an Information Disorder Traffic Unit, which he expects to become functional in about two months. He stressed that the initiative was not intended to curb free speech but to help flag potentially false or harmful information.When asked whether the proposed mechanism could be used to target the BJP, Kharge responded: “Why is this that all my laws that I intend to get -- they are the first victims?”He clarified that the government would not itself decide what constitutes misinformation or malinformation. Instead, a committee of experts, including media personnel, would determine whether content was fake and debunk it, he said.According to Kharge, the government was primarily concerned with information that had the potential to trigger a law-and-order issue or malign the government and its policies.If content had the potential to cause a law-and-order problem, the expert committee would assess it and refer it to the legal team, which would advise the government on whether it fell under provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and whether any action was required.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Aug 26, 2026 18:18 IST