Janardhana Poojary Dares Former Speaker Ramesh Kumar over Unsavoury Comments
Mangaluru: At a media meet on Saturday, former Union minister and senior Congress leader B Janardhana Poojary took up the cudgels against MLA and former assembly speaker Ramesh Kumar over comments he had made against him (Poojary) on the floor of the assembly recently.
He said that just because he had raised his voice against the proposed Yettinahole project which was likely to severely affect the water resources in the coastal districts that the former speaker had used cheap and derogatory language against him. Poojary said that he would not stoop to the level of Ramesh Kumar by using similar language.
He also questioned as to what the present speaker of the assembly was doing when such unparliamentary language was used in the august house.
Poojary asserted that he had always been fighting for the people of the twin districts of the coast and no one, including Ramesh Kumar, could silence him.
Poojary reminded Ramesh Kumar that the latter himself was facing charges of grabbing land reserved for scheduled tribes and castes. He needed to give an answer to the people of the state in the first place, he said.
Having had served as the speaker of the house himself in the past, Ramesh Kumar should have kept in mind the dignity of the house.
Poojary said that those living in glass houses should not pelt stones at others, which would lead to damage to one’s own property. Poojary said that he could feel the frustration brewing inside the former speaker over his not being made a minister.
Poojary at the same time recalled that in the past he himself (Poojary) was the first one to have demanded a permanent solution to the drinking water problem in inland and table-land Karnataka.
He also cautioned that despite opposition from the people of the coast, Yettinahole project was being pushed ahead, which was slowly leading to a demand for a separate state for Tulu populace.
If the government did not understand the sentiments of the people of the district, the demand could snowball into a major movement, he added.
special correspondent
