Reddy brothers have taken over BJP: Veerappa Moily

In a pungent attack on the BJP, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said the saffron party had been “taken over” by the Reddy brothers who figured in the illegal mining scam.

“The BJP has been taken over by the Reddy brothers. Several MLA tickets have been given to their family members,” Moily told a press conference. “Even today, yet another of their relatives has been given a ticket in Bengaluru,” he said, referring to the BJP’s BTM Layout candidate Lallesh Reddy, nephew of mining baron G Janardhan Reddy.

The BJP has fielded G Somashekhara Reddy (Bellary City) and G Karunakara Reddy (Harapanahalli) for the May 12 Assembly elections. The Congress also circulated images and video clips of Janardhana Reddy sharing a stage with BJP state president
B S Yeddyurappa and accompanying B Sriramulu during his filing of nomination papers.

“The BJP doesn’t seem to have learnt lessons from their disastrous tenure,” Moily said. “The BJP coming to power was an accident. Going forward, such accidents will not take place.”

Moily also defended Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision to contest from both Chamundeshwari and Badami constituencies. “He will win both easily by big margins. Siddaramaiah contesting from north Karnataka is a shot in the arm for our party in the region,” he said.

Moily expressed confidence that the Congress would win over 130 seats. “This is my gut feeling that is in line with our internal surveys and public perception, because Congress has brought stability and done inclusive development.”

B-team

With each passing day, it is becoming evident that the JD(S) is the BJP’s B-team, Moily said. “The BJP has no existence in many parts of the state, including Chamundeshwari where they have fielded an unknown. It’s clear that the JD(S) and the BJP have an understanding there,” Moily said.