BENGALURU: Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy commented here on Saturday that there is nothing new about the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in New Delhi. Anti-national contingents have joined forces with CJP leaders, in an attempt to tarnish the image of the country, he told repoters.
He said the Centre is not scared of Delhi protests and there is no need to misinterpret the situation. During the earlier protest, students were sidelined, and attempts were made to lay siege to Parliament and create anarchy. The Union government took note of all those developments, he added.
He said after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union education minister, the protestors felt that the Centre would yield to pressure regardless of the circumstances. Now, there is the demand for the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation. It is a constitutional post; if there is any mistake, they can approach the courts, but they are unwilling to do that, he added.
Narayanaswamy said the claims made regarding Form 7 have proven false. The Election Commission has not removed a single name based merely on someone’s application. He challenged the protesters to specify exactly what the wrongdoing was to warrant a demand for resignation. He noted that none of them are able to substantiate such claims and they should stop making baseless allegations and attempt to stir up a nationwide controversy.
Hitting out at Home Minister Priyank Kharge, he said Congress leaders are speaking about sting operations and the police have the authority to register suo motu cases. He said if there is no corruption, there is no reason for fear. Congress leaders are scared precisely because they have something to hide, he said. He accused Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of blackmailing MLAs and ministers from his own party. “Why did the chief minister bring up the sting operation issue? He should have taken action,” he said.
In Karnataka, Congress managed to stay afloat largely because of Siddaramaiah, and now that he has been sidelined, Congress will not survive, he said.