Siddaramaiah alleges political vendetta by Centre

Congress Legislature Party Chairman Siddaramaiah has alleged political vendetta by the BJP-led Union government against former minister D K Shivakumar.

Speaking to reporters at the Mangaluru International Airport on Saturday, he said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department are being misused to harass Shivakumar.

“If Shivakumar had committed any mistake, then legal action could have been taken against him. However, political vendetta is not right on the part of the Central government. The government should stop harassing him,” he demanded.

On bank merger

Reacting to the merger of public sector banks to arrest economic slowdown in the country, Siddaramaiah said the move will not strengthen banks. “It will neither reduce the NPAs nor increase lending activities. “The Centre has been interfering with the functioning of the banks. The Centre is also interfering with the functioning of the Reserve Bank of India,” he alleged.

“The GDP has declined. Growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) stands at 5%. In reality, GDP growth is somewhere between 3.7% and 4%. When Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, the GDP had touched 8%,” Siddaramaiah pointed out.

“Failure of the economic policies of Prime Minister Modi has put the country in hardship. The note ban and unscientific implementation of GST have forced investors to think twice before investing in the country,” alleged Siddaramaiah.

He said several industries have announced lay off. The automobile sectors and textiles are in distress in the country.

‘No fight’

CLP chairman Siddaramaiah said that the post of the KPCC president is not vacant.

“There is no fight for the post. Already, the KPCC has a president,” he declared.