BENGALURU: Union minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday slammed senior Congress leader Basavaraj Rayareddy, accusing him of a volte-face on corruption in Karnataka, and questioning his sudden praise for CM Siddaramaiah, just weeks after branding the state as “corrupt”.
Kumaraswamy ridiculed Rayareddy’s backpedaling as “not just ironic, but downright comical”. “There was no need for Rayareddy, the Economic Advisor to the CM, to backtrack. He had merely spoken the truth,” Kumaraswamy quipped, adding, “In fact, his own words once echoed the spirit of ‘Satyameva Jayate’, but it seems now he’s chosen silence over sincerity.”
The former CM further dared Rayareddy to deny the “series of scams” tainting the current regime. “Is he really so blissfully ignorant, or just politically paralysed,” he asked pointedly. “Under my leadership, contractors were paid on time — no delays, no kickbacks! But today, commission agents practically have a red carpet for Vidhana Soudha,” he stated.
Turning the heat up, the JDS leader branded the Congress government as “East India Company 2.0” that’s “plundering Karnataka under the guise of governance”.
He concluded: “What moral high ground does Rayareddy, a cog in this loot machinery, have to question JDS? His selective amnesia doesn’t absolve this government’s tainted track record.”