Belagavi: Taking a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union minister for fertilisers, Ananth Kumar, told a farmers’ rally here on Saturday, that he was having to counter criticism from within his own party post the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections with senior leaders like Janardhan Poojary speaking out against inefficient ministers in his cabinet.
“The Chief Minister is being criticised by his own party colleagues for not running the government effectively. Mr Poojary recently pointed out that the cabinet had several unfit ministers,” he recalled at the Prime Minister’s rally to popularise a farmers’ insurance scheme.
Asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party would launch a campaign across the state to bring down the Siddaramaiah government, former Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa also hit out at the Chief Minister, claiming he had failed to come to the rescue of farmers in all drought-hit areas of the state.
“He did not disburse compensation among farmers even after the Centre gave the state over Rs 1500 crore for drought relief work,” he charged. Bharatiya Janata Party State unit president Pralhad Joshi too alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had failed to meet people's expectations.
Beleaguered CM Siddaramaiah plays OBC card
Pushed to the wall on his luxe watch, a visibly upset CM Siddaramaiah played the OBC card on Saturday, alleging that vested interests were constantly trying to wreck the career graph of leaders from backward classes.
The beleaguered leader’s first obvious target was JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and his kin with Mr Siddaramaiah alleging that they were jealous about him ascending the CM’s post.
“They cannot digest the fact that I have become the CM,” he told the media here before citing instances of OBC leaders facing hurdles and attempts to destabilize their dispensation.
“You see, the late Mr Bangarappa was removed after he completed two years in office. Mr Moily was not allowed to function with a free hand after he became Chief Minister. The same thing is happening to me now. All allegations against me are politically motivated”, he added.
