Vishwanath mocks at Rahul Gandhi's 'temple run'

Former MP A H Vishwanath has ridiculed All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi's temple visits to project that the Congress is in favour of Hindus. Vishwanath mockingly said that he (Rahul) can instead fall at the feet of RSS chief (Sarsanghchalak) Mohan Bhagawat.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday, he took a dig at the recent 'temple run' by Gandhi. He said, "The Congress party, in an effort to project Rahul Gandhi and the Congress as pro-Hindu, is making arrangements for his temple visits during his tour to Karnataka also. Instead of taking him to temples, let the Congress leaders take Rahul directly to the RSS office in Bengaluru."

Anything for votes

"In a nation with a secular ideology, the Congress and BJP do not hesitate to stage dramas for votes. But people will reject both the parties and vote for the JD(S) in the upcoming Assembly elections," Vishwanath said.

He alleged that there is a scam in the acquisition of hundreds of acres of land at Himmavu village near Varuna in which the confidants of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have been involved at the behest of the CM himself.

He said that the lands have been registered in the names of dead persons thereby deceiving the innocent farmers while acquiring the lands by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). I have no objection for a probe into the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) land acquisition scam in which the kin of MLA G T Devegowda figure. But before that, the CM should order a probe into the Himmavu land scam," he said.

Vishwanath alleged that there is political vendetta behind the naming of the MLA's son G D Harish Gowda and brother Yaduvar in the FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The old case has been reopened to harass Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency MLA Devegowda, he said.

"The world knows the intention behind the CM wanting to contest from Chamundeshwari. The move is totally politically motivated," he said.

K R Nagar MLA Sa Ra Mahesh said that, "The chief minister is saying that the probe into the KHB scam is not out of political vendetta. We will believe his words only if the Arkavathi Layout denotification case in Bengaluru is handed over to the CBI," he said.