The former Union Minister and Chickballapur Lok Sabha member M. Veerappa Moily on Sunday said halt to the “award vaapsi” by intellectuals and writers and the conclusion of Bihar polls could be a mere coincidence. The Congress had nothing to do with the award vaapsi as alleged by the BJP, he said.
Mr. Moily was responding to presspersons’ queries after he was felicitated by the Karnataka Rajya Devadigara Sangha here. To a question on the BJP’s allegations of Congress-sponsored returning of awards and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statements on this, Mr. Moily said Mr. Jaitley was an eminent parliamentarian and such words were not expected from him.
Returning the awards was a decision by writers and intellectuals who were hurt by the government’s silence over a series of murders and harassment to a section of people. It could not be said that the Congress promoted that, Mr. Moily said.
On asked how the ensuing Parliament session would go, Mr. Moily said the BJP appears not to have learnt lessons from the Bihar poll outcome. It continues to attack the Congress leaders either directly or indirectly. In such a situation, how could one expect a smooth functioning of the Parliament, Mr. Moily said. It was up to the BJP to ensure that the Parliament transacts its business without any hitch, he added.
Felicitatation
Earlier, the Karnataka Rajya Devadigara Sangha felicitated Mr. Moily and his wife Malathi Moily on being conferred with the Saraswathi Samman Award. On the occasion, the Moilys inaugurated the renovated air-conditioned auditorium of the Sangha.
Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Dakshina Kannada MP, legislators, Sangha president Vaman Maroli and others were present.
In the wake of potential protests by those opposing the Yettinahole water diversion project against Mr. Moily, the administration had arranged heavy police protection at the function venue. The audience was thoroughly screened before being allowed into the auditorium even as the road was made out of bounds for traffic.
Mr. Moily laid the foundation stone for the project at Chickballapur ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Residents of the undivided Dakshina Kannada are opposed to the Yettinahole project on the ground that it does not yield the quantum of water as claimed by the government and because the project could destroy the evergreen forests on the Western Ghats.
