BENGALURU: Asserting that the Congress is determined to complete its 11-day Mekedatu padayatra, Opposition leader in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, on Tuesday slammed the State Government for filing cases against his party leaders, allegedly for violating Covid norms. He also questioned why cases were not filed against BJP leaders who held rallies.
“They have booked cases against us and they may book more cases. If they feel they can scare us by doing so, this BJP government is ‘unintelligent’. We will fight the cases through legal means,” Siddaramaiah said. Pointing out that there was no fair play, he said that while nearly 50 Congress leaders have been booked for taking out the Mekedatu padayatra, no cases have been booked against BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar, who led a major protest march, or MLA M P Renukacharya and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and others, who took part in events with huge gatherings in violation of Covid norms. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his Cabinet ministers too had recently attended the swearing-in of newly elected MLCs at the Vidhana Soudha banquet hall, where 3,000-4,000 people were present, and no case booked then also, he stressed.
Siddaramaiah, who rejoined the padayatra on Tuesday after recovering from fever, said, “The BJP fears political gains for the Congress from the padayatra and is making frustrated attempts to scuttle it.” He also accused the BJP government of colluding with neighbouring Tamil Nadu to delay implementation of the Mekedatu project and betraying the people of the state. The ruling party is favouring Tamil Nadu with an intention to increase its base in that state, he alleged.
“Will you collude with Tamil Nadu and betray Karnataka and its people? We will not allow it, we will make your conspiracy public,” he charged, adding that the padayatra is in the interest of the people and there is no prestige issue in it. Alleging that there was a conspiracy to stop the march, the CLP leader said, “Despite walking for two days, nothing has happened to KPCC president D K Shivakumar. But it seems like the government planned to give him a Covid-positive report to stop the march. We will not stop our padayatra and will complete it as planned,” he declared.
Recalling the Congress march from Bengaluru to Bellary against illegal mining before the party came to power in 2013, Siddaramaiah said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the BJP are scared as people are voluntarily joining the march. “They think about our Ballari padayatra and are unable to sleep as they fear a repeat of sorts,” he remarked.
Defending their march amid the pandemic, he said, “Cases are surging in Maharashtra and Delhi too. Is our padayatra happening there? Cases are not spreading because of the padayatra, it is increasing naturally due to the third wave,” he added. Reiterating his charge that BJP government is delaying implementation of the Mekedatu project initiated by the Congress government, Siddaramaiah said, “When we were in power, there was a BJP government at the Centre. But now, the BJP is in power both at the state and the Centre. Yet, why have you not been able to get environmental clearance and start the project?” he questioned.