Congress U-Turn Reflects Internal Political Compulsions, Says Vijayendra

Belagavi: Raising the Kogilu Layout issue, BJP state president BY Vijayendra alleged that key decisions on housing allotment by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were driven by an internal political compulsion to save and secure the Chief Minister’s post.

Addressing the media at Belagavi, Vijayendra said the government had initially taken a firm stand and cleared illegal settlers from Kogilu Layout by demolishing encroachments.

"The decision was reversed a few days later following a statement by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and pressure from AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister," he said.

Claiming that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister were in a “helpless situation”, Vijayendra alleged that one was trying to protect the Chief Minister’s post while the other was aspiring for it, leading to policy flip-flops.

“Siddaramaiah is struggling to save his chair, while Shivakumar is aiming to secure the Chief Minister’s chair,” he remarked.

Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of announcing a decision to allot houses of the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Society at Baiyappanahalli to illegal migrants, questioning whether such policy decisions were being taken by the elected government of Karnataka or dictated by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal from Delhi.

He maintained that the houses were built for poor Kannadigas and warned that arbitrary decisions could not be taken out of fear of the high command merely to protect one’s position.

“The decisions of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister themselves are illegal. Why do you take such decisions that hurt the self-respect of Kannadigas?” he asked. He also questioned whether it was right for the Chief Minister to decide at will on houses built using taxpayers’ money.

Raising questions on the government’s priorities, Vijayendra recalled that Siddaramaiah had earlier announced the construction of 100 houses in Kerala’s Wayanad following landslide and had sanctioned Rs 15 lakh as compensation for deaths caused by elephant attack there.

“What injustice have the poor of our state committed?” he asked.

He said farmers in Karnataka had been severely affected by excessive rainfall and were awaiting compensation from the state government. “Instead of responding to the distress of farmers, the Chief Minister was only pointing fingers at the Centre,” he recalled.

“Two-and-a-half years have passed since the government came to power. How many houses have been built and handed over to the poor so far?” he asked.

Stressing that the state government should prioritise the needs of Karnataka’s poor, Vijayendra said it was unfortunate that he had to remind Siddaramaiah that he is the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He alleged that decisions taken to safeguard political power were coming at the cost of Kannadigas and their livelihood.