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Mysuru, Nov 7 (IANS) Commenting on the internal fight within the Congress government in Karnataka, Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said he knows Chief Minister Siddaramaiah well and there will be no leadership change in the state.
He made this statement while speaking to the media in Mysuru before the beginning of the meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA).
Asked about Congress’s internal leadership change and talk of a “November revolution”, Union Minister Kumaraswamy said: “In November, there will be neither a revolution nor a reversal. I know the nature of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah very well. I understood it even when he was in our party. Therefore, there will be no change.”
Responding to a question about Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar’s statement of talking to God, Kumaraswamy said, “We don’t know what God says to DK Shivakumar. It is between him and God.”
When asked about DK Shivakumar’s claim that the Congress would return to power in 2028, Kumaraswamy replied: “I know what happened to those who earlier claimed that they would rule for 10 or 20 years. Who knows what will happen in 2028?”
Asked about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s announcement of making Mysore ‘Greater Mysore’, the Union Minister said, “It is part of the rivalry between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. To counter Shivakumar’s announcement of ‘Greater Bengaluru’, Siddaramaiah announced ‘Greater Mysore’.
“None of this will happen – they are wasting time in such political games,” Union Minister Kumaraswamy said.
Talking about the sugarcane crisis, Union Minister Kumaraswamy has made serious allegations against the Chief Minister and claimed that he has written a letter to the Prime Minister in an attempt to shirk his responsibility in solving the problems of sugarcane farmers.
“This (Karnataka) government has no intention of responding to the plight of farmers. It is trying to shift every issue to the Center and shirk its duties,” the Union minister said.
He said that if the Chief Minister really wanted it, it was a “very small issue” which could have been resolved within minutes.
“But the Chief Minister is politicizing everything. He has written to the Prime Minister only to shirk his responsibility. Tell me, in which state of the country has the Prime Minister personally intervened to resolve the issues of sugarcane farmers?” he asked.
He said that instead of calling a meeting with public representatives, the Chief Minister could have ended the crisis by taking decisions directly and talking to the farmers.
“Instead of doing this, this (Congress) government is busy doing politics,” he said.
The Union Minister said that the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) could have taken a direct and decisive stand in favor of sugarcane farmers, but instead he has come down to blaming the Centre.
Union Minister Kumaraswamy said, “It appears that the CM has succumbed to pressure from local representatives of Belagavi and the Chinese lobby. He should resist such pressures and work in the interest of farmers first.”
Commenting on reports that all party leaders in Belagavi district have sugar mills, Kumaraswamy clarified, “I have seen such reports in some media outlets. No JD-S leader has a sugar mill. Only Bandeppa Kashampur had a sugar mill, but he sold it a few days ago. So, at present, no one in our party has any sugar mill,” the Union minister clarified.
–IANS
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