BENGALURU: “Perhaps Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had decided to take revenge against his political opponents, that’s why as soon as he took over, he said he wouldn’t indulge in vendetta politics... otherwise where was the need to make such a statement?” asked former Chief Minister and opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
He made this comment after Yediyurappa announced that five welfare schemes started by the Siddaramaiah government, like Anna Bhagya, Indira Canteen and so on, would be investigated. This is in addition to anger in the Congress over strongman DK Shivakumar’s arrest by the ED.
The Congress has squarely blamed the BJP for Shivakumar’s arrest and also said that the IT-ED began taking action against the leader after he housed MLAs from Gujarat for the election of Ahmed Patel to the Rajya Sabha.
Siddaramaiah, who lasted a full five-year term as CM, stressed that he had not indulged in vendetta politics, and neither had former CM HD Kumaraswamy. On BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s allegation that Siddaramaiah was responsible for raids on DK Shivakumar, he said it shows how Kateel is ignorant of the working of the government. “Kateel had assumed that IT and ED are under the state government, but they are under the Union government. At least Kateel should have some knowledge of the government and administration,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said, “The government is not concerned about flood victims and instead of providing relief, is investigating welfare measures that we had initiated. The Congress has directed all its units in taluks and districts to stage protests against the government’s apathy to flood victims. They will gather across the state and protest between 11am and 2pm and voice their anger against the stepmotherly attitude of the government, both at the state and Centre.”
In continuing support to Shivakumar, the pontiff of Adichunchanagiri mutt, the most influential Vokkaliga Mutt, Nirmalananda Swamiji visited Shivakumar’s house in Sadashivanagar and spent time with his family members, and consoled them.