BENGALURU: A day after a video showing Transport Minister D C Thammanna chiding the voters of Mandya emerged, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy went into damage control mode on Sunday.
Following the massive backlash that Thammanna received for hitting out at residents of Maddur for electing Sumalatha Ambareesh over JDS candidate Nikhil Kumar, Kumaraswamy took to his Twitter profile to send out a word of caution. Without taking names, the Chief Minister urged all his ministers to keep development and electoral politics away from each other.
“It isn’t right to mix development with electoral politics. Let us, as representatives of the people and members of the ministerial cabinet, work towards the development of Karnataka as a whole, irrespective of people’s mandate and preferences. This is the essence of democracy,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.
The tweet came a day after leaders of the opposition, as well as newly-elected MP for Mandya Sumalatha criticised Thammanna. She even deemed him unfit to be an elected representative if he can’t help people. When a group of Dalits from Deshihalli in Maddur taluk approached Thammanna to seek grants for roads and basic facilities on Saturday, the minister lost his cool and asked “Are you not ashamed? Don’t you remember the works done by me? You want development from me, but vote for others in the elections.”
Despite warning, JDS lashes out at Sumalatha
Even as the CM asked his cabinet to watch their statements, JDS went ahead and attacked Sumalatha for her criticism of Thammanna. “Within two weeks of being elected as MP, Sumalatha seems to have forgotten her priorities and is making politically instigated statements... Politics is not fashion for us,” JDS spokesperson Ramesh Babu said on Sunday.
Thammanna has lost his mind: Ex-minister
Mysuru: Former minister and Congress leader N Chaluvarayaswamy criticised Transport Minister D C Thammanna for hitting out at voters and said the minister has lost his mind after losing the elections. Despite KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao warning partymen not to make comments on the government, Chaluvarayaswamy said JDS’ controversial statements has destabilised the government.