MYSURU: Congress leader and defeated Congress candidate from the Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency, M Lakshmana, clarified that he did not urge the State Government to stop its guarantee schemes.
Addressing the media in Mysuru on Wednesday, Lakshmana said that his comments were misrepresented in the media. He explained that he only urged the government to review the guarantee schemes to ensure they reach the needy and not all beneficiaries.
Lakshmana expressed his disappointment over the misrepre-sentation of his statements. “After losing the election, I demanded that the government consider that the guarantees be targeted only at the needy and called for a review. But it has been misrepresented,” he said.
Lakshmana also criticised the BJP for not making Veerashaiva Lingayat a cabinet minister. Lakshmana said that BJP MP V Somanna was assured of a cabinet post, but no one else from the Veerashaiva Lingayat community was given a chance.
Somanna is the Minister of State for Jal Shakti. He further criticised the Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, saying that he was unfit to hold the position. “As an opposition leader, he (Ashoka) should be a shadow of the CM. But he has proven that he is unfit by only engaging in hit-and-run statements,” Lakshamna said.
On the case involving actor Darshan, he said that no influence or pressure was exerted on the police. “This would not have been the situation if BJP or JDS were in power,” the Congress leader said.