Karnataka: ‘U-Turn’ Jibe Triggers ‘S-Turn’ Counter From Shivakumar
“The more powerful a person is, the more enemies he has. If there is less power, there are fewer enemies, and if there is no power at all, there are no enemies": Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar
BAGALKOT: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday hit back at the Opposition for calling the withdrawal of the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Amendment Bill a “U-turn”, saying the people had given him the strength to take an “S-turn”.
“U, V, Y and X are all with them (the opposition). The people have given me the strength to make an S-turn. We will see later which turn has to be taken,” he said while speaking to reporters.
Shivakumar said there was no question of prestige in withdrawing the Bill, as public interest and public opinion were more important.
“If the matter had been discussed in the Assembly, I would have given an appropriate reply. The Bill was being brought in the public interest. If necessary, I would have suggested forming a committee and taking a decision. The Bill had also received approval in the Assembly. There is no question of prestige when it comes to withdrawing it. Public interest and public opinion are important to me,” he said.
Asked about the BJP’s padayatra, the Chief Minister said, “Let the BJP undertake four more yatras. Let them even undertake a repentance yatra (Paschattapa Yatre). The people have already given them their verdict.”
Speaking about the resignation of B Nagendra, he said that Nagendra resigned so that there would be no embarrassment to the government.
“Nevertheless, he remains our leader. There is no doubt about that,” he added.
“The more powerful a person is, the more enemies he has. If there is less power, there are fewer enemies, and if there is no power at all, there are no enemies. It is natural for people who work firmly and effectively to come under scrutiny,” Shivakumar said.
On the Kasturirangan report, Shivakumar said the Centre had issued a notification contrary to the state’s earlier decision and had given Karnataka 60 days to submit its views. The government would seek the opinion of all political parties before finalising the state’s stand, he said.
He also said the BJP would be taken into confidence since it was in power at the Centre, stressing that Karnataka’s interests should be protected irrespective of political differences.