Two Congress councillors defected into Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday here.
K M Ganesh and Leela Sheshamma, members of Madikeri City Municipal Council (CMC) joined the regional party at a convention organised in the city. They were followed by several other leaders from both the Congress and the BJP parties.
Former Mysuru-Kodagu MP A H Vishwanath, who recently joined JD(S) after severing ties with Congress, said the state is in need of the government dedicated for the cause of Kannadigas. There is no need for a dispensation holding its reins in Delhi, he added.
Substantiating his demand for supporting a regional party, Vishwanath said, “JD(S) state unit president H D Kumaraswamy should be given a full term as chief minister, as the people have witnessed the rule of both the BJP and the Congress governments respectively.” If one has to find solutions to demands over land, water, language and also agrarian issues, JD(S) should be brought to power, he said.
“Politics is not stagnant water, where a person looking for new possibilities always looks for a change. It was the only reason I chose to tread a new path after severing ties with Congress party with which I was associated for 40 years. We were the victims of Delhi tyranny, where it was even difficult to run the show let alone taking any decisions. Adding to this, the behaviour of state-level leaders was also not acceptable.”
Without taking the name of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Vishwanath said, “A person whom I brought into the fold (of Congress party) has been creating havoc in administration, compelling to change course towards Kumara (Kumaraswamy).”
Speaking about the contribution of the regional parties in the country, he said it is also essential to support JD (S) in the state. The land is replete with natural resources like sand and iron ore that has been changing hands beyound boundary of the state, he added.
When the threat to natural resources reached its peak during the rule of BJP government between 2008 and 2013, the then opposition leader Siddaramaiah took out a Padayatra from Bengaluru to Ballari demanding people’s support to form a government to ensure corruption-free government. However, though now in power, the chief minister has reneged on his promise and is neck deep in corruption, Vishwanath charged.
Venting his ire against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vishwanath said that the prime minister has not taken any measures to bring back black money stashed abroad and deposit it in the bank accounts of poor. Due to confusing economic policy, four lakh people have lost jobs in metropolitan cities, he claimed.
He said Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) is headed by a corrupt, yet another example of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah failing to keep his promise of corruption-free governance. Vishwanath announced that he will tour Bagalkot, Chitradurga, Vijayapura and Davangere to create awareness among the people about Congress misrule in the state.
MLA G T Devegowda from Mysuru said the government is out to break Lingayat community in the name of separate religion. It was unexpected from Siddaramaiah, he said.
Former minister B A Jeevijaya lauded Vishwanath as a model politician who still believes in principles. He was in the company of D Devaraj Urs, a prominent chief minister ever seen in the state.
Many other leaders from Maragodu, Shirangala, Kadagadalu, Chettalli, Suntikoppa, Besur, Janardhanahalli and Kodlipet joined JD(S) along with the councillors.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by DH News Service, Madikeri / July 28th, 2017
