Senior Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary has predicted the loss of the party in the by-election to the Nanjangud Assembly constituency in Mysuru district. He has said so even as the Congress party is deciding over a suitable candidate to take on former minister V Srinivas Prasad in the by-election.
Reacting to media queries on Wednesday and mincing no words, Poojary, a former Union minister and a staunch Congressman, said, “Whoever be the candidate, we (the party) will lose the by-poll.”
Poojary, who substantiated his prediction, said, “The prevailing situation already alludes to the debacle of the party in the coming days, leave aside the by-poll results.”
Saying that Srinivas Prasad – who quit both as MLA and from primary membership of the party after he was removed from the Cabinet as revenue minister by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the recent reshuffle) – has been degrading the party, Poojary felt its time for the chief minister to learn a lesson. “There is a limit for everything and one should not go overboard always.”
When sought to tell whether the chief minister’s stranglehold in his native district Mysuru will not seal the victory for the party in the Nanjangud by-poll against Prasad (who is most likely to contest as BJP nominee), Poojary said, “Unlike previous days, people nowadays are most cautious,” hinting at the undercurrent that may play spoilsport for the Congress.
To a query on the possibilities of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) authorities serving a notice on him, Poojary, who claimed innocence on any such development, questioned the source of the notice.
Yettinahole
On the much-debated Yettinahole drinking water project, Poojary questioned the arguments of D V Sadananda Gowda, Union minister for statistics and programme implementation, and Chikkaballapur MP M Veerappa Moily in favour of the project. Both had served as chief ministers of Karnataka and hail from coastal district.
While Gowda says that 2,000 TMC feet of water is flowing towards the sea, Moily says the project is feasible. Poojary, who called it a farcical judgement said, “People in the coast are already reeling under drinking water crisis, with the situation further aggravated by lack of rains.”
Mayor’s apology
On the decision to revise tax under self-assessment scheme (SAS), as announced by Mayor K Harinath recently, Poojary demanded the mayor to tender apology for taking the people for a ride, promising not to revise the tax earlier.
As is the norm, taxes are revised to improve the revenue sources of local bodies as per the recommendations of state finance commission (SFC), added Poojary.