Bengaluru, Sep 10: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday backed Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s government, saying it was moving in the “right path” and urged the chief minister not to be distracted by criticism from the Opposition.

Speaking at the ‘Druda Karnataka Sankalpa’ event organised to mark 100 days of the Shivakumar-led government, Siddaramaiah said the government had continued implementing the Congress guarantees while also working on new programmes for the people.

“In three months, D K Shivakumar has put efforts to continue all guarantees. Alongside, he is trying to provide several new thoughts and programmes to the people. The Shivakumar-led government is proceeding on the right path,” he said.

Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that the Congress government would remain “pro-poor” and said efforts were underway to fulfil other promises made in the party’s election manifesto.

‘Don’t be bothered by Opposition criticism’

Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had understood the problems faced by the people and advised him not to be concerned about criticism from the Opposition.

“Shivakumar has understood the problems of the people. No matter what, I ask him not to get bothered by the Opposition’s criticism,” he said.

Taking aim at BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of lacking credibility to speak about corruption.

“The corruption they did while in power is in front of us. B Y Vijayendra, the BJP state president, speaks against corruption. This is a tragedy,” he said.

In his characteristic combative style, Siddaramaiah also referred to Vijayendra’s role during the tenure of his father, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa.

“When B S Yediyurappa was the chief minister, Vijayendra used to behave as though he was the chief minister. Yediyurappa’s government was drowned in corruption. If such people speak against corruption, I don’t know whether we should laugh or cry,” he said.

BJP padayatra a ‘gimmick’, says Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah also criticised the BJP and JD(S) for not participating in discussions on the drought situation in Karnataka, while accusing the BJP of using its 10-day padayatra in Kalyana Karnataka for political purposes.

“There are burning issues in the state. They didn’t discuss those issues but have gone for a padayatra. This is a gimmick. What is the purpose of the padayatra? They don’t have an issue and are just doing it for politics,” he said.

He said neither the government nor the chief minister should be distracted by the BJP’s campaign.

Contrasting the BJP’s current padayatra with those undertaken by the Congress while in Opposition, Siddaramaiah said the Congress programmes had been aimed at highlighting specific public issues.

‘People are the bosses in a democracy’

Siddaramaiah also defended the record of his Congress government between 2013 and 2018, claiming that it had fulfilled 158 of the 165 promises made in its manifesto.

He accused Opposition parties of failing to demonstrate a similar commitment to their election promises.

Emphasising that people were the ultimate authority in a democracy, Siddaramaiah urged the government to maintain direct contact with the public and work towards addressing their concerns.

“The people are the bosses in a democracy,” he said, calling upon the government to continue going to the people and focusing on issues affecting them.