Bengaluru: CM must sack non-performers, says Congress leader Vishwanath
Veteran Congress leader and former MP, Adagur H. Vishwanath has a clear view when it comes to controversial issues. Over the course of an interview with Deccan Chronicle, he made a no holds barred assessment of the performance of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues and the Congress party.
He felt that while the performance of Siddaramaiah as an individual is good, that of his government does not match the standards the general public had expected.
Mr Siddaramaiah has to give a good governance in the next two years and ensure state programmes reach the bottom of the pyramid. He also highlighted the need for a full-fledged KPCC president-a post now held by Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwar. Excerpts from the interview:
Once you were very close to the CM. Now, it seems you are not in his good books. Why?
Even now, I am on good terms with the CM. In the past too, I have not gone to the CM often for anything.
Have you fallen out with the CM because he did not transfer officials you recommended?
No. I am the last man to go to the chief minister or any other minister for transfers. If somebody comes to me and asks for a letter to meet the chief minister or a minister, I will provide it.
But in person I have never gone to him and ‘recommended’ names. Even when I was a minister or MLA, I never favoured requests for transfer. No CM has turned down my recommendations in the past.
After next two months, the Congress government will complete three years. How do you assess its performance?
The performance of Siddaramaiah as an individual is good, but not that of his government. The performance of some of his cabinet colleagues is very bad, it is not palatable for the general public.
You say there are many ministers who are not performing. If the majority are not performing, then the government is ineffective.
No. There may be some lapses, he has to set right these lapses and give good governance. He must conduct a major surgery on his cabinet. He must remove some of the inactive ministers mercilessly.
Who are they?
I do not want to name anyone. But the public knows who is incapable. And some of them (people) are expressing their displeasure in the media.
What is the strategy Mr Siddaramaiah should adopt, to bring the government back on track?
After this budget, Mr Siddaramaiah must assess the performance of his cabinet colleagues. He must bring in new blood, induct experienced and excellent leaders and give a new dimension to the government’s performance. He should come up with new programmes.
With this, he can do wonders in the remaining two years of his tenure. He must also see that the programmes reach the bottom of the pyramid. He must tour all districts. And he must take into confidence, the rank and file of the party. The party needs to be revamped.
The block and district Congress committees should be totally revamped. He must take the Congress party into confidence, without the party, nobody can do anything. A full-fledged KPCC president must be appointed by the All-India Congress Committee as per the recommendation of the Chief Minister.
Revenue Minister Mr Srinivas Prasad attacked you. He said you are a clown?
(Laughs) I and Mr Prasad are very good friends since forty years. We used to think on the same lines. We are disciples of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Devraj Urs and Basavalingappa. I don’t know why Mr Prasad is acting like this after he became Revenue Minister. I only commented on the functioning of the revenue minister.
Every individual has the right to question the government he elected to power including the chief minister, ministers and even bureaucrats. And that is the right Dr Ambedkar has given us.
Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed. If Srinivasprasad asks me, ‘Who are you to question me?,’ this goes against the Constitution drafted by Dr Ambedkar. if Mr Prasad is committed to the Constitution, he should honour the right of freedom of speech and expression, enshrined in the Constitution.
Mr Srinivasprasad retorted that he has performed very well and even Mr Siddaramaiah was junior to him.
Everyone is saying the revenue ministry is not performing well. It is the mother department of all departments. It has to protect the rights of people in rural parts, manage our paani, khatha. It has to protect our property.
The department is not thinking on these lines for the past three years. The revenue department has to combat drought too. He has to go around the whole state, give employment to people where the drought is severe. The water crisis is severe now. But he has not held meetings.
I am from KR Nagar taluk in Mysuru, he never comes for a review meeting here. He visits Mysuru or his constituency Nanjangud. He has reduced himself to a minister of his constituency, not of the state. Some other ministers too treating their constituencies as the whole state. That is a problem now. The question of being junior or senior never arises in politics.
Mr Rahul Gandhi is our leader. Can a senior leader say ‘Mr Rahul Gandhi is very junior to me, who is he is to direct us?' No. Mr Srinivasprasad is a subordinate of the Chief Minister, he has to obey the orders of the Chief Minister. He can’t dictate terms to the Chief Minister.
Why do you think AHINDA voters are deserting the Congress? The Hebbal Assembly by-poll and the recent Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections are a case in point.
The Hebbal by-election result does not reflect the state’s mood. Congress votes are intact. If we are losing, it is because of lapses by the party, not because of the government’s performance.
The party is not performing well. A party must function as a liaison between the government and the general public to reach the programmes of the government to the bottom of the pyramid. It is not doing this job.
