Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet colleagues came down heavily on veteran leader Mr V Srinivasprasad, at the Congress party workers convention in Nanjangud on Sunday ahead of the byelections.
Mr Siddaramaiah countered Mr Prasad's statements and said, "The Nanjangud byelection is not between Mr Srinivasprasad and me but between the secular Congress which has trust in unity and integrity, and the communal BJP, which is dividing people in the name of dharma."
He said, "We have sent the names of Mr Kalale Keshavmurthy for Nanjangud and Ms Geetha Mahadevprasad for Gundlupet to the high command. We will be getting the reports in one or two days after which we will declare them as official candidates," he said.
Mr Siddaramaiaih continued "I know the intentions of Mr Srinivasprasad. He is frustrated. You criticised the BJP calling it pro Manu (Manuvadi) and anti Ambedkar before, and now, you embrace that party for selfish reasons. There may be political differences but not vengence, one should not address anyone in the singular. Did he not have self respect when he won the assembly elections as Congress candidate in 2008 and 2013 and enjoyed being a minister for three years? He suddenly speaks of self respect after he loses power. You people voted for me and I won. Were you (Prasad) there when I won in 1983 as an independent candidate, and in many more elections?" Mr Siddaramaiah asked.
He added, "Mr Yeddyurappa (BJP state president) who took bribe in the form of cheque and during whose tenure the Reddys looted Rs 1 lakh crores worth ore, has started speaking on looting, injustice, dharma and adharma. It is like hearing mantras from the devil's mouth. If it is a war between justice and injustice, I welcome it. We will discuss about our work and achievements, I have seen many such fights", he said.
PWD minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa said, "Mr Srinivasprasad suffers from dementia. Give respect and take respect," he quipped. Mr C.M. Ibrahim said, "Congress has done good work but there has not been good publicity for it, that's it.”
