BENGALURU: A day after his government turned four, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah came across as a lone-ranger as he sought to turn the tables on leaders of BJP, in particular state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa, saying the former chief minister had no moral right to criticize his government after going to jail on charges of corruption.
“I think, the BJP is under an illusion. After indulging in corruption and having been imprisoned and losing the CM’s post, how can he make such comments. He does not have any moral right to speak like this. I ask Yeddyurappa not to be under an illusion of returning as Chief Minister in 2018. People of Karnataka will not bless (him) again. Under my leadership, and Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s, we are confident of winning the Assembly elections in 2018,” he told the media here on Saturday.
Mr Siddaramaiah was reacting to Mr Yeddyurappa’s statement that the Kuruba strongman would be the last Congress CM of the state. The Chief Minister also trained his guns on leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar for releasing a “chargesheet” against him. “I think all BJP leaders are under the illusion that they will come back to power,” he added.
Ironically, was flanked by two MLCs—V S Ugrappa and H M Revanna—with no ministers, not even information minister R Roshan Baig or his close confidants from Mysuru district, when he addressed the media today.
The CM listed out achievements of this three year-old government and reiterated that he would complete his term in office. “I am satisfied with our performance during the last three years. Of the 165 assurances listed in our manifesto, more than 120 have been fulfilled. The rest will be fulfilled over the next two years. I am happy to say that during the last three years, no corruption charges were made against our government. Few charges were made by leaders of opposition parties but with a political motive and without any substance. In my government, no minister went to jail or sought bail. In fact, whenever allegations were made against our government, we ordered CBI inquiries. In five cases, I have ordered CBI inquiry,” he added.
