BENGALURU: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy took a dig at the State Government for organising a massive human chair from Bidar to Chamarajanagar on the International Day of Democracy (Sunday) while questioning the delay in holding elections to local bodies.
Taking to ‘X’, the former CM said, “It has been 16 months since the Siddaramaiah government came to power. How many polls have been conducted?
They are not showing any interest in conducting panchayat or BBMP polls. Without conducting local body elections, the CM speaking on democracy has no meaning,” he said.
Kumaraswamy said there was no concern to safeguard democracy in the Congress government-led human chain. “If they had any concern towards democracy, they would first conduct elections to local bodies. Ever since they came to power, they have not conducted elections, which are pillars of democracy at the district and taluk panchayat levels, as well as BBMP polls in Bengaluru. Why? Just because you have come to power, does it mean that the local governments should be ignored while you parade around the Vidhana Soudha,” he said.
Further Kumaraswamy alleged that with no local body polls, iddaramaiah’s democracy and government’s people-oriented approach seem only to shine in advertisements. “Your actions are more about propaganda than actual governance,” he alleged.
“Can democracy be preserved through a human chain? Is the misuse of taxpayers money an embellishment for democracy?” he charged. First, announce local body elections and strengthen the true democratic chain,” Kumaraswamy told the State Government.