Vajpayee govt’s fate for Modi govt due to anti-poor policies: Siddaramaiah

Agencies

April 1, 2019

Bengaluru, Apr 1: Predicting defeat for BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah Monday mockingly said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the fate of 'India Shining' due to his anti-poor policies.

"After completing five years, Vajpayee came up with a slogan 'India Shining' in 2004.

I don't know where it shined.

If it had really shone, there was no need for any welfare schemes. History tells us what happened to 'India Shining'. Narendra Modi will also meet the same fate," Siddaramaiah said at a 'Meet the Press' programme at the Press Club of Bangalore.

He was referring to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led National Democratic Alliance government's slogan 'India Shining' in 2004.

India Shining referred to the overall feeling of economic optimism in the country during the 2004 general elections.

The NDA witnessed a defeat and a stunning comeback of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre to rule India for 10 years.

The Congress leader slammed BJP for criticising Congress party's poll promise - Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme (Nyunatam Aay Yojana-NYAY) - that is estimated to cost Rs 3.26 lakh crore to the national exchequer.

"They (BJP) mock our scheme of giving Rs 3.5 lakh crore to the poor people and speak low about it.

The very fact that they are opposing this programme, they are anti-poor. They cannot stand with the economically weaker section", he said.

There are no such instances also whether be it former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Modi's five-year term," Siddaramaiah charged.

To support his claim of Modi's defeat in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, he said the BJP will fail to repeat its 2014 stellar performance in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Siddaramaiah said the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in UP and Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress tie-up in Bihar will trounce the BJP.

"BJP will not win. Modi will not be prime minister again," he asserted.

Flaying Modi for "politicising" surgical strike, the former chief minister said such surgical strikes had happened in the past too including during the formation of Bangladesh by breaking Pakistan into two.

However, for the first time such heroic actions were politicised, he alleged.

The senior Congress leader also questioned what he termed as the "intelligence failure" which led to the deadly attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy, killing 40 soldiers in January.

"What happened to your intelligence in Pulwama? What were your agencies doing when your soldiers were ferried in trucks and not airlifted?" Siddaramaiah sought to know.

The incident had further soured India-Pakistan relations with India avenging the killing with airstrikes on the terror camps inside the Pakistan territory in February.

To a question, Siddaramaiah allayed fears about the longevity of the coalition government of Congress and JD(S) led by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. He said the government will remain post-Lok Sabha elections.

Replying to a query on Congress rebel candidates, the former chief minister said those have no ideological base shift their loyalties and change parties.

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‘Have letter, next step is...’: MUDA on Siddaramaiah’s wife’s offer to return plots

News Network

October 1,2024

Mysuru: The Mysuru land authority at the centre of a financial and political storm - involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and alleged losses of ₹ 45 crore to the state - has received an offer of restitution from his wife, the urban development body's Commissioner, AN Raghunandan said.

"I am in possession of a letter written by Siddaramaiah's wife regarding her intention to return 14 plots (of land). The Chief Minister's son, Yatindra Siddaramaiah, came to our office and delivered the letter. We will take legal advice for the next step..." he told reporters in Mysuru.

Mr Raghunandan also confirmed anti-corruption officials from the city's Lokayukta branch had written seeking cooperation in its inquiry into the charges against the Chief Minister.

He said the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, "will cooperate with the investigation".

The Enforcement Directorate, however, have not reached out as yet, Mr Raghunandan said. The ED, a federal agency, has filed a money laundering case against Siddaramaiah.

There have also been calls for the CBI, another federal agency, to investigate charges against the Chief Minister, but that appears unlikely now given the Karnataka government has withdrawn general consent for its operations in the state. Law Minister HK Patil made the announcement last week.

He ruled out any link with demands for the Chief Minister to be investigated by the CBI, which reports to the BJP-led central government and the ruling Congress and other opposition parties have claimed is being used by that party to target rival leaders, particularly before elections.

On Monday - three days after the Lokayukta filed a case against the Chief Minister, and hours after the ED launched its probe- Siddaramaiah's wife said she had planned to give up the land earlier but was advised against it the allegations against her husband are "politically motivated".

But now, she said, she had made up her mind as "no house, plot, or wealth is more important than my husband's honor, dignity, and peace of mind". She also said the decision was hers alone; "... I am not aware of my husband's opinion on this matter, nor do I concern myself with what my son thinks".

And, in a comment seen as a calculated swipe at the opposition BJP, which is leading calls for the Chief Minister's resignation, his wife also made an emotional appeal to "all political parties and the media" to "please not drag women of political families into the controversy to settle political scores".

Investigative action against the Chief Minister follows the Karnataka High Court quashing a challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's order sanctioning Siddaramaiah's prosecution.

Subsequently a trial court ordered framing of charges and directed the Lokayukta to complete the investigation within three months. The ED case was filed based on the Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah faces an inquiry into claims Parvathi was allotted 14 plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere - holding a far lower value - taken for infrastructure projects.

The Chief Minister has denied all charges and refused calls to resign.

He has been backed by the Congress and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the state unit boss, and also by members of his cabinet, including IT Minister Priyank Kharge. However, some within the Congress also want him to quit, such as former Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad.

"I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally," he said last week after the High Court had quashed his challenge to the Governor's sanction.

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