BENGALURU:The brewing agitation for separate statehood for north Karnataka is showing all signs of escalating with political parties trying to play the game of one-upmanship. BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Monday accused former PM H D Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy of conspiring to divide Karnataka to strengthen JD(S) and to retain power.
Opposing any move to divide the state, Yeddyurappa is heading to Belagavi on Tuesday to meet seers and other leaders and dissuade them from going ahead with their agitation demanding a separate state.
"Deve Gowda is conspiring to strengthen JD(S) by dividing Karnataka. People of the state will neither accept this nor tolerate this. Going by the recent statements made by the CM, it looks like that he is conspiring to divide Karnataka. Kumaraswamy has meted out step-motherly treatment to the people of north Karnataka by asking them whether they voted for him to demand a farm loan waiver. He has not only exhibited arrogance, but has also violated the Constitution," Yeddyurappa said here on Monday. Never before in the political history of Karnataka has any CM made such an irresponsible and arrogant statement, he added.
Yeddyurappa said, "The inexplicable silence maintained by the Congress has raised many doubts. Recently, the party had hatched a conspiracy to divide the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. JD(S) is also treading the same path."He said he would leave for Belagavi and persuade the seers and other leaders to drop their agitation plans for a separate state on Tuesday.