JOIN USJagadish Shettar responds to D K Shivakumar on Karnataka's Covid-19 model; no lockdown in Dharwad
Large & Medium Scale Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday criticised the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D K Shivakumar's wish to make Congress a cadre-based party can never be a reality, opining that Congress has no workers who work for common people but all are leaders there.
"Where is the cadre in Congress? Remaining workers also do not have respect there. It will continue to resort to mere vote bank politics. Whereas, BJP has lakhs of workers who always work with common people," he said.
In reply to Shivakumar's criticism against the 'model' tag given to Karnataka by the Union Government for its Covid-19 management, Shettar said, "He is in the opposition and says so purely based on politics. Naturally, he cannot hail the BJP government. Has the Centre given the same appreciation to all States where BJP is in power?".
BJP has already given representation to North Karnataka region in Rajya Sabha, and BJP core committee would be asked to do the same in forthcoming elections also, he added.
However, Shettar refused to comment on statements by Umesh Katti and Sonia Gandhi.
On community spread
"Covid-19 infection is spreading to various localities including villages, mainly due to those who returned from other states. As community spread is also possible, people should have self-restriction, while the government is also doing its best. Guidelines should be followed in day-to-day activities," Shettar said.
This infection is not sparing anybody, including police, medical staff and minister's family. To boost the morale of government employees, instructions are given for speedy throat swab collection, testing and treatment, along with providing safety equipment, he noted.
No lockdown in Dharwad district
Unlike Bengaluru, which has more Covid-19 cases and the vulnerable areas are ordered to be completely lockdown, such a step would not be taken in the Dharwad district, as the virus spread here is less compared to other districts, said Shettar, who is also Dharwad's district in-charge minister.
Guidelines are being followed to contain the virus spread, and self-regulation is most important though the lockdown is relaxed, Shettar emphasised. "Sealing down a 100-metre area from the house of the Covid-19 patient is correct here," he said.
202 positive cases have been reported in the district so far, 76 are discharged, while the number of negative cases is 22,245 out of 22,439 tests. A total of 23,636 persons in the district are under observation, while 68 results are awaited, and 123 are active cases, he explained.