Minorities should understand how they’re treated by Cong: HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru: Referring to the controversy surrounding the rehabilitation of encroachers in Bengaluru, which has taken a political and communal turn, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday said minorities should understand the politics of the Congress in Karnataka.
Addressing a massive JD(S) silver jubilee public convention in Hassan, Kumaraswamy underlined that the Janata Dal (Secular) was not responsible for people being forced to sleep on the streets in freezing conditions at demolition sites in the city.
“I want to convey this to Muslims. In Thanisandra and Kogilu Layouts in Bengaluru, did the sitting MLAs not know about the encroachments? They carried out the demolitions. The temperature drops to eight or nine degrees in Bengaluru. Children cannot sleep in such cold. People were evacuated using bulldozers. The Congress-led government claimed it would provide houses within a day. Have you got the houses yet?” he asked.
“The situation of children sleeping in freezing cold was not created by the JD(S). Muslims should understand how they are being treated by the Congress,” Kumaraswamy said.
“Today, people who lost their houses are on the streets in Thanisandra and Kogilu Layouts. They are crying that they purchased the land by paying money. They claim they have been paying water and electricity bills. Does this government have any humanity? Small children and pregnant women are sleeping on the streets,” he said.
Referring to his political journey, Kumaraswamy said, “I entered politics accidentally and became Chief Minister twice. I implemented programmes such as Janata Darshan and Grama Vastavya and banned liquor.”
He criticised the Congress government for what he termed excessive reliance on welfare guarantees. “The current government is only harping on guarantees. I will not name the state, but earlier it had taken loans of Rs 20,000 crore. Today, by giving a Rs 1,250 allowance for women heads, that state has incurred huge debts. In our state, the debt stands at Rs 8 lakh crore,” he claimed.
“They are claiming preparations are underway to present a record budget. I do not know how much loan they are taking this time. I banned liquor without any expectations. I also banned lotteries in the state. What has happened today? Matka is rampant and people are on the streets,” he alleged.
Issuing a warning to government officials, Kumaraswamy said, “A retired officer from the Irrigation Department, who acted under pressure, took a decision for which he was imprisoned for four years. I am citing this as an example to officers currently working in the state.”
Referring indirectly to the alleged sex CD and rape case involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, he said, “In the history of the state, police personnel who went into forests to capture forest brigand Veerappan were rewarded. Today, the state government has rewarded police officers with Rs 30 lakh in another case. I know how the investigation has been conducted.”
He further alleged that a senior police officer had been exposed despite prior warnings to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “I had warned the Chief Minister during his first term. Officers involved in the robbery of Rs 3 crore from a gold merchant in Ilavala of Mysuru are being retained. They continue to remain in power under your government,” he alleged.
“I had warned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to act before things went out of hand. I asked him to rectify the situation. What happened recently? A senior police officer was exposed, and it became national news,” Kumaraswamy said, referring indirectly to the senior IPS officer’s sleazy video case.
Mocking the Chief Minister’s claims of clean governance, he said, “You say you have created a record and broken the tenure record of former Chief Minister late D. Devaraja Urs.”
“There is not a single government engineering college in Siddaramaiah’s native Mysuru district, whereas Hassan has three engineering colleges. Deve Gowda launched the airport project 30 years ago. This is our contribution to our native district,” he said.
Referring to his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy said the JD(S), founded by a leader with over six decades of political experience, has completed 25 years.
“This silver jubilee programme has answered those who claimed the JD(S) had lost its relevance,” he said, adding that the event was organised on the insistence of Deve Gowda, who will complete 93 years in May and enter his 94th year.
