MYSURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday refuted former minister V Srinivas Prasad’s allegation that he had met BJP leader L K Advani requesting his support to become the chief minister after he was sacked from the JD(S). Speaking to reporters here, he said he had spoken to Advani while he was in Janata Parivar and not after that.
Replying to senior Congress leader Janardhan Poojary’s statement that the Congress will lose the Nanjangud by poll, he retorted, “What does Poojary know about Nanjangud? I don’t take him seriously.”
Siddaramaiah said the state budget will be presented in March and pre-budget discussions will start in February. He hoped that the revenue generation will improve from January.
He said he will submit a proposal of Rs 4,700 crores to take up drought relief works and another `386 crore for flood relief when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. He said he will raise the Mahadayi issue with the PM and ask him to waive farm loans.
‘Not at the cost of self-respect’
“I have never done politics at the cost of my self-respect. I have never bowed before anyone, but that doesn’t mean I am perfect,” Siddaramaiah said. Speaking after laying the foundation for development works worth Rs 65.82 crores at Nanjangud, he took potshots at Srinivas Prasad and said no progress can be achieved just by talking.
“For a few, a communal party has become more appealing. I will answer during the election campaign for those talking about self-respect,” he said. The CM said he too belongs to Nanjangud as two of the villages in Nanjangud taluk are in Varuna Hobli.