VIJAYAPURA: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit out at Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy, saying that the latter has the habit of making wild allegations without giving any proof. After offering bagina to the Krishna river at Almatti dam on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah dubbed Kumaraswamy a “hit and run case” for not taking any of his allegations to their logical end. “He (Kumaraswamy) makes wild allegations of corruption but never releases any documents to substantiate his claims. He claimed he had some pen drive about corruption by Congress leaders, but he never released it,” the CM said.
On the possibility of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot sanctioning permission to prosecute Kumaraswamy in a 2007 mining case, Siddaramaiah said that the JDS leader is scared and that is why he is holding frantic press meets.
On Kumaraswamy’s statement that even hundred Siddaramaiahs cannot arrest him, the CM said that he never arrests anybody. “Why should I arrest him? If needed, even a single constable can arrest him,” Siddaramaiah shot back. On the alleged scam in MUDA, Siddaramaiah asserted that there is not a single document available to nail him in the case. The CM said that BJP was in power when alternative sites were allotted to his wife.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness over all major dams in Karnataka attaining full capacity following a good monsoon. He regretted that the state lost 35 tmcft of water after the 19th crest gate of the Tungabhadra reservoir broke. “We were fearing that we might lose 60 tmcft of water, but thankfully, we lost only 35 tmcft. We hope that the dam will get filled to at least 95% of its total capacity of 105 tmcft as we expect more rain,” the CM added. On increasing the height of Almatti dam from the present 519 m to 524 m to use additional 130 tmcft of water granted to Karnataka by the tribunal, he said that unless the Union Government issues a gazette notification, it is not possible for the state to increase the height as the matter is in court. “We are urging the Prime Minister to call for a meeting of Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana to find an amicable solution,” Siddaramaiah added.