Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy (L) and Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
Credit: DH Photos
New Delhi: Slamming Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for holding a meeting with senior police officers during his visit to Ballari on Tuesday, Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said that this amounted to nothing but direct interference by Shivakumar in the Home Department, which is held by state Home Minister G Parameshwara.
"Why did the Deputy Chief Minister convene a meeting of police officers in Ballari? Who gave him that authority? Is there no Home Minister in the state? Are the existing Home Ministers mere figureheads?" Kumaraswamy asked.
Speaking to reporters, he said, " A Deputy Chief Minister is still just a minister. What information will officials give to the Congress fact-finding committee? Party workers and Congress leaders themselves have filed complaints before the fact-finding committee against the MLA responsible for the incident."Kumaraswamy said.
He also alleged that the state government is trying to cover up the entire incident that took place in Ballari city.
"Why was the body of the murdered party worker cremated in haste after the post-mortem? Why was the body cremated hurriedly without even allowing the family to perform the final rites? Shouldn’t the government answer all this?" Kumaraswamy asked.
"Karnataka is being turned into a jungle raj. This is an extremely serious case. Why is the Chief Minister maintaining silence on this? Has it reached a point where even if your own MLA orchestrates a murder, no one dares to question it? Tell your Home Minister and others not to speak lightly about me," he said.
"As stated by the Director of BIMS himself, Dr. Yogeesh initially began the post-mortem. As it was allegedly delayed, another doctor, Dr. Chetan, was called in. Why was he summoned? On whose orders was he called? For the first time in history, two doctors were brought in to conduct a post-mortem. Why did this happen? Who exerted pressure? To protect whom was all this done? Shouldn’t the government tell the people the truth?" the Union Minister said.
Responding to Minister Priyank Kharge's criticism against Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) leader said Priyank Kharge must explain what contribution you and your father have made to the Gurumitkal constituency.
"Leave Kalyana Karnataka aside; if one looks at your own constituency, it becomes clear what development you have actually carried out," he said.