In JD(S) bastion, CM tells Gowda some 'home truths'

Exuding confidence that the Congress would defeat JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on his home turf, the party leaders, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Saturday launched a tirade against Gowda and his sons – H D Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna, calling them ‘liars’. 

Campaigning for Congress candidate A Manju, Siddaramaiah said Energy Minister Shivakumar had been made the district in-charge, as he is ‘equipped with strategies’ to defeat Gowda. 

“Shivakumar played a key role in ensuring the victory of the then Congress candidate Tejaswini against Gowda in 2004. He also successfully contested against Kumaraswamy. In the recent byelections, he ensured former MLA Anita Kumaraswamy’s defeat. Now, he will ensure Gowda’s defeat on his home turf,” the chief minister said. 

Reacting to Gowda’s allegations of corruption against Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah questioned the Gowda family’s sources of income, as to how they could acquire land worth crores of rupees in and around Bangalore. “A CBI probe can be ordered, as demanded by the JD(S), not only against Shivakumar, but also against Gowda and his family if they are ready for it,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said: “The father and the sons shed more tears as the elections approach, claiming to sympathise with the farmers and the poor. Once the elections are over, their tears dry up for the next four years.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara said the Congress, which won the byelections to the Mandya and Bangalore Lok Sabha constituencies, had now come to Hassan to create history.