Former Chief Minister and president of the State-unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) B.S. Yeddyurappa has termed the tour of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet colleagues to the drought-affected areas a publicity gimmick.
Speaking to presspersons after interacting with farmers at Jidga Mutt in Aland taluk on Thursday, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that such tours provided no relief to the affected people.
Mr. Yeddyurappa minced no words in criticising Mr. Siddaramaiah and his ministerial colleagues for their lack of coordination in tackling the drought situation in the State and their “insensitive” statements on the prevailing drought. Referring to the recent suspension of 20 officials in Haveri district for presenting a wrong picture about the crop loss, Mr. Yeddyurappa said it only showed the lack of control that the government had over its officials. He further said that the suspension would only bring down the morale of the government officials.He also asked what action has been initiated against the Deputy Commissioner of Haveri who was entirely responsible for the faux pas.
Accusing the Chief Minister of losing interest in governance, he said that Mr. Siddaramaiah was spending more time to save his position. Mr. Yeddyurappa said that several senior Congress leaders like Janardhan Poojary, S.M. Krishna and Mallikarjun Kharge have revolted against Siddaramaiah and this has put him on a shaky ground.
He said that the issue of appointing a Dalit as the Chief Minister has been raised to divert the attention of the people from the real issues and hide the failure of the government in tackling the drought situation in the State. When asked about his statement that Congress president Sonia Gandhi may be not interested in making a Dalit a Chief Minister and on why the BJP is not projecting a Dalit as the Chief Minister candidate in the State, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that he was reacting to a question raised at a press conference in Bidar and the issue of projecting Dalit as a CM candidate by the BJP was not an issue. To another question on whether the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been constituted to target to him, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that it was formed to save the skin of the Congressmen in power.
He said that it was not an Anti Corruption Bureau, but a Corruption Protection Bureau. Mr. Yeddyurappa further said that he has full faith in the judiciary and would come out unscathed.
He said that he would speak to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the need for releasing water from the Ujjini Dam into the Krishna to meet the drinking water needs of Kalaburagi and Vijayapura districts. “I have already spoken to former union minister Sharad Pawar in this regard and sought his cooperation …,” he added.
Such visits by the CM provided no relief to the affected people, says Yeddyurappa
