Both Centre, state govts commission driven: Vishwanath

While the leaders of the national parties - the BJP and the Congress - are involved in accusing each other as 'commission' driven governments, JD(S) leader and former MP A H Vishwanath, on Saturday, said that both the Union as well the state, are commission governments.

In a press conference, organised prior to the JD(S), Other Backward Class (OBC) leaders meeting, here, Vishwanath said, "The Union, led by the BJP, and state government, led by the Congress party, may be collecting 10% or 90% commission, but, the political parties have proved themselves ato be commission-based governments."

Former minister P G R Sindhia said that the JD(S) has accorded priority to backward class leaders. "When the JD(S) was in power in the state, the government had given importance to backward class youth in employment. The party is committed to uplift the deprived classes," he said.

Responding to Siddaramaiah's statement that he did not know former prime minister H D Deve Gowda till 1983, Sindhia said, when Deve Gowda was Janata Party state president in 1977, Siddaramaiah was Mysuru district youth wing president. "But, he (Siddaramaiah) contested independently from Chamundeshwari Assembly segment in 1983. Siddaramaiah's statement shows his arrogance and negative attitude. People of the state understand everything and the voters will teach him a lesson. The people of the state are aware how successfully Deve Gowda resolved the issues," he said.

The Congress party needed a leader and thus, Siddaramaiah joined it in 2006 and became the CM, he said.

MLC Ramesh Babu alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's gift (bhagya) to the state is bankruptcy. "When I raised a question on Rs 2 lakh crore debt, no one, including, the CM answered me. The state government has failed to implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations as it is. Siddaramaiah used backward class leaders as a springboard for his growth, but, he never helped them to grow politically," he alleged.