Won’t speak about 'power beggars', says Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said he will not speak about "power beggars", a term he used when asked about the tussle between Tourism Minister C P Yogeshwar and BJP vice-president B Y Vijayendra.

Shivakumar was mostly referring to Yogeshwar.

"Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has taken into his fold people who have hopped from one party to another, landing in the BJP. Let Yediyurappa suffer," Shivakumar said of Yogeshwar. "Let Yediyurappa face the heat for his mistake. Even we made the same mistake and had to bear the brunt," he added.

It was Yediyurappa's doing that resulted in Yogeshwar saying the current government was a "three-party" government, Shivakumar said. "Let them go to Delhi or Andaman. For us, saving lives and fighting for the poor are priorities," he said.

Shivakumar urged the government to directly purchase flowers, fruits and vegetables from farmers. "Farmers are selling chilli for Rs 1-2 as against Rs 40-50 before. Some farmers are using their own crops as fertilisers. They are allowed to sell their crops only for two hours. The state of farmers in north Karnataka is horrible," he said.

Mocking the government's policy, Shivakumar pointed out that liquor stores could sell alcohol till 10 am whereas farmers have to wind up at 8 am. He also criticised the government's relief package of Rs 1,250 crore, calling it "a reel package".