BENGALURU: A groundswell of support is visible for former external affairs minister S.M. Krishna, who resigned from the Congress, in his home district, Mandya, with several leaders following suit to protest against him being sidelined by the top brass and an indifferent attitude of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Seven taluk panchayat members of Srirangapatna quit the party to express support to Mr Krishna.
Meanwhile, Mr S. Gurucharan, nephew of Mr Krishna, hinted that the leader would join BJP soon. “Mr Krishna wants to join the BJP, and has already held one round of talks in this regard. Once talks are fruitful, I too will join BJP and contest on lotus symbol from Maddur constituency, " he said adding that as Mr Krishna was a national leader, he would like to identify himself with national parties.
Mr Ravindra Srikantaiah, a die-hard supporter of Mr Krishna, who quit all posts in Congress, told the media: “There is no Congress without Mr Krishna. We are staunch supporters of our leader, and will continue to remain his supporters, irrespective of the consequences.”
He charged that CM Siddaramaiah had discontinued many schemes announced by Mr Krishna while the latter was the CM. The Congress leadership was weak as party president Sonia Gandhi was no longer at the helm.
“I was given Congress ticket to contest from Srirangapatna in 2008 but it was given to another candidate at the 11th hour. This was repeated in 2013 Assembly polls, too. I do not know how state leaders can change a candidate selected by central leaders. Youth like me have suffered a lot since 2008 and injustice has been meted out to young blood. In fact, energy minister D K Shivakumar and I were groomed by Mr Krishna but now Mr Shivakumar is speaking against our mentor. We will abide by Mr Krishna’s decision, and follow him where ever he goes.”
Stirring the pot, Mr Ashok?
Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister R Ashok on Tuesday minced no words while expressing his adulation for former external affairs minister S M Krishna, and guaranteed a warm welcome in case the leader decides to join his party.
“I am a great admirer of former chief minister S. M. Krishna. He will get a warm welcome if he wishes to join the BJP,” remarked Mr Ashok who represents Padmanabhnagar in the Assembly, while participating in the inaugural of a skywalk in Yediyur ward, Dr Da. Ra. Bendre circle. He was all praise for Mr Krishna’s contribution to development of the state, and expressed his displeasure about the way he was treated by the Congress.
Mr Ashok alleged that CM Siddaramaiah has been rewarding only his staunch followers, resulting in growing disappointment among a large number of senior leaders, and warned of an imminent collapse of the Congress government in case the Chief Minister fails to mend his ways. Former minister M H Ambareesh too was forced to make an unceremonious exit from the cabinet.
“He is a good friend. The BJP has a strong base in old Mysuru region. Both Mr. Krishna and Mr. Ambareesh are welcome to join the BJP if they have any inclination,” he added.
The skywalk, named after Jnanpeeth award winner Dr Da. Ra. Bendre was thrown open to the public on the litterateur’s birth anniversary. The bust of Dr Bendre has been installed at a cost of Rs. two crores in association with Prakash Arts. The skywalk has connectivity on all four sides of the road at Jayanagar 3rd Block. Since the skywalk has lift facility, senior citizens and physically challenged could use it to get to the other side of the circle.
