BALLARI: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is on the campaign trail ahead of the bypolls, declared that in order to protect Sandur and its surrounding hills from mining activities, the BJP must be defeated in the upcoming byelection.
Speaking at a campaign rally in support of Sandur Congress candidate Annapoorna Tukaram in Bannihatti village on Friday, Siddaramaiah alleged that BJP MLA G Janardhana Reddy and his supporters want to reintroduce the ‘Republic of Ballari’ culture by fostering fear in the public. Hence, it is essential that BJP candidate Bangaru Hanumantha be defeated in the bypoll.
Further, Siddaramaiah claimed that during the Ballari Padayatra of 2013, Reddy had warned the people of Ballari not to support him, and “I held an election campaign on the premises of a temple and I found that people were scared to even speak. They were afraid to give us water, but I drank water from a house. It showed us how Reddy and BJP cared about the Constitution”.
“When BS Yediyurappa was CM, he visited Ballari, but no official met him as they were intimidated by Reddy. They want to create a similar situation now, but voters won’t let that happen again. Development works like providing drinking water, building roads and schools will be done by minister Santosh Lad and MP E Tukaram. Congress candidate Annapoorna should win with a margin of over 50,000 votes,” Siddaramaiah added.