Bypoll is fight between socialist, communal party: Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the byelection to the Nanjangud Assembly constituency is a fight between a socialist and a communal party and not between individuals.

The chief minister was addressing Congress workers at a party workers’ convention organised by the Mysuru District Congress unit, here. Siddaramaiah said former MLA V Srinivas Prasad who is BJP’s candidate, has been projecting the election as a fight between him (Prasad) and Siddaramaiah. “Prasad, due to his pride, has unnecessarily forced a byelection. Because of him, public money is being wasted. Leaders should not create unnecessary issues,” Siddaramaiah said. BJP divides people on the basis of caste, creed and community, he said.

The chief minister took strong exception to BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa’s comments and said he must act responsibly. “He was imprisoned for irregularities and during his tenure as chief minister, he has looted Rs 1 lakh crore in the mining scam,” Siddaramaiah said.

Siddaramaiah challenged Yeddyurappa to release documents to prove allegations against him and Congress ministers. Recalling Siddaramaiah’s march against illegal mining from Bengaluru to Ballari in 2010, Congress leader C M Ibrahim warned Yeddyurappa not to take Siddaramaiah lightly.  Comparing Siddaramaiah to Lord Rama, Ibrahim said, “If you (Yeddyurappa) want to know the effect of Rama’s arrow, ask former minister Janardhana Reddy.” and referred to Yeddyurappa in the singular.

SMK to join BJP on March 14
Veteran leader S M Krishna will join BJP in the presence of party’s national president Amit Shah on March 14, state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa has said, reports DHNS from Nanjangud (Mysuru district). Addressing party workers here on Sunday, Yeddyurappa said that leaders of all political parties were knocking the doors of the BJP after V Srinivas Pra­sad joined the party. “My immediate challenge is to ensure the victory of Srinivas Prasad in Nanjangud bypolls,” he said. Yeddyurappa predicted that Karnataka would go to polls in the next six months.