Bengaluru: State JD(S) president A.H. Vishwanath made it clear on Tuesday that he did not intend to change his mind on resigning and urged the party to consider appointing party leader Madhu Bangarappa in his place.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr Vishwanath said Mr Bangarappa was an ideal candidate for the post as he was young and energetic and could be relied on to build the party in the state. Moreover. this would give a candidate from the OBC community the opportunity to lead the party, he argued.
“As outgoing president, I would love to hand over the party flag to Madhu. He is young and has a lot of energy to run around the state to build the party organisation,” he added.
Asked about Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda's call to candidates defeated in the last election to be ready for any eventuality, Mr Vishwanath claimed he was not implying that mid-term elections were imminent.
“It was a call for the party organisation to be always prepared for any eventuality,” he maintained. Referring to BJP leaders criticising the Chief Minister's Gram Vastavya programme, Mr Vishwanath said it was not new and Mr Kumaraswamy had started it when he was Chief Minister in his party's coalition government with the BJP.
“The BJP's criticism is unnecessary. It is a programme to find solutions to people's problems on the spot in the presence of officials. The CM is trying his best to move the administration," he asserted.
Batting for an independent minister for finance, the JD(S) leader told reporters after the Public Accounts Committee meeting, that the Chief Minister could not be expected to give enough time to the ministry as he had too many other responsibilities.
