Senior leaders chant coordination mantra in Kodagu

As electioneering intensifies in the district, the district coordination committee has been striving hard to realise a sense of coordination between the leaders from the district Congress committee and JD(S) parties.

Congress candidate from Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency C H Vijayshankar told reporters in Madikeri on Thursday that a district level coordination committee, very similar to the state level committee, will be formed soon.

Disagreements among the party leaders were trivial issues and will be sorted out soon. Leaders and workers from JD(S) and Congress parties will campaign together. JD(S) President H D Devegowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will visit the district for campaigning, Vijayshankar said.

Dismissing rumours, Vijayshankar clarified that the senior leader G T Devegowda could not accompany him during the filing of nominations as he was pre-occupied in some engagement.

There is good coordination between the leaders of Congress and JD(S) parties, he assured.

Meanwhile, he accused the BJP of playing mean games on them.

“Some BJP leaders had raised objections about the filing of nomination. However, the returning officers accepted the nomination after the documents were to been found in order during the scrutiny.”

He said the Central government’s export policies were the main reasons behind the fall of horticultural products.

“The MP of the region had done nothing to protect the interests of growers in the district. The cost of fertiliser has doubled,” he charged.

He said quoting from Union Railway Minister Piyush Goel’s statement, issued on December 12, 2018, that railway connectivity was denied to Kodagu due to fund crunch.

The Central government had totally neglected the opinions of stakeholders while implementing the Kasturirangan report, he added.

Vijayshankar’s flip-flop

During the press conference on Thursday, Congress candidate C H Vijayshankar spoke in favour of the IT department raids carried out across the state. Defending the IT department, he declared that the IT department had the power to decide and act on its own.

“The announcement of elections has nothing to do with the raids. I have worked as an MP for two terms and I know it is not right to say that IT raids are not vindictive acts,” said Vijayshankar.

But later, Vijayshankar realised his mistake and made a complete U-turn. He declared that IT raids were carried out with a bad motive. He said the people will decide whether it is a vindictive action or not.

IT officials have to follow the Central governments’ orders. IT raids done during elections raise speculations, C H Vijayshankar said. Vijayshankar was the member of BJP earlier.

District Congress Committee president K K Manjunath Kumar, leaders T P Ramesh, Ramanath and MLC Veena Acchaiah were present in the press meet.