Cong leaders lambast G T Devegowda for 'defaming' CM

Mysuru city Congress leaders lambasted Chamundeshwari MLA G T Devegowda for describing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah a ‘habitual betrayer’ on Friday. They also demanded a probe into the Karnataka Housing Board scam in which Devegowda’s name has been figuring for a few years.

Addressing reporters here on Saturday, president of the district (rural) Congress B J Vijay Kumar said that, Devegowda had been praising Siddaramaiah all these years but is now afraid of getting defeated in the 2018 Assembly election if the chief minister returns to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency.

“Fearing defeat, Devegowda has resorted to defaming Siddaramaiah. He has a habit of telling lies and he is also an escapist. Fearing an impending defeat, he is trying to mislead and confuse people. He has no respect for democratic principles. His words of arrogance against the CM, only reveals his class. There are only two possibilities in an election. If one emerges victorious, the other has to be defeated. That will be decided by the voters. Why claim a victory before the elections are held? Let Devegowda wait for the elections, let him contest and see the results for himself,” he said.

'Misplaced facts'

Former Chamundeshwari MLA M Sathyanarayana said that G T Devegowda has no moral ground to speak about either Kempiregowda or Siddaramaiah. “He is the biggest beneficiary of the generosity of both the towering personalities. Devegowda has not got his facts right before stating that Siddaramaiah betrayed Kempiregowda. It has to be recalled that Siddaramaiah, in 1985, invited him to become the MLA from Chamaraja constituency. Let Devegowda explain why he has been defeating Kempiregowda’s son Umashankar in the elections of the cooperatives,” he said.

Former chairperson of Karnataka State Women’s Commission Manjula Manasa said Devegowda has been ungrateful to Siddaramaiah who facilitated the election of his family members to various coveted posts. “Devegowda’s sister-in-law Vanajakshi was made Zilla Panchayat president in 2001 while her husband Nagaraju was made APMC president. Besides, Devegowda’s brother-in-law Shivanna was elected to Mysuru Taluk Panchayat and another relative Hootagalli Ningegowda was made the TP president,” she pointed out. He has been the president of the Karnataka Cooperative Federation for a long time due to the support of Siddaramaiah, she added.