BJP is a 'sinking ship' in Karnataka, Congress a united force: Randeep Surjewala
New Delhi, Apr 4: Terming the BJP as a 'sinking ship' in Karnataka which even Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot save, Congress leaders on Tuesday said their party is "united" in the southern state and will ensure the "40 percent commission" government is ousted.
AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala and former chief minister Siddaramaiah also dismissed reports claiming that the latter had pushed his case as a contender for the top post and said his statements to a channel were "misinterpreted".
They said Siddaramaiah had never claimed that he would be the chief minister and had only stated that he is a contender and that the party high command would decide after consulting the elected MLAs on who the leader would be.
Siddaramaiah and PCC president D K Shivakumar were in the national capital to attend the party's central election committee meeting here on Tuesday.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi were present during the meeting, where the leadership discussed the allocation of tickets for the remaining 100 seats.
The Congress was the first to declare 124 candidates for the May 10 election to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
Surjewala told reporters that the screening committee and the Central Election Committee again met on Tuesday and discussed the probable candidates for the remaining seats and would declare some more seats by the late evening.
He stressed that the leaders were unanimous while deciding on the party candidates for the upcoming elections.
"The '40 percent Commission BJP Sarkara' in Karnataka has floundered and failed. The so-called 'double engine Sarkara' is a double-betrayal for Karnataka. Modi government betrays Karnataka on one hand and the Bommai government brazenly loots Karnataka on the other hand," he alleged.
"The way in which the BJP leaders are leaving the party in Karnataka in hordes, as over 10 MLAs have left expressing no confidence in the Bommai government, it (BJP) is a sinking ship which is on a nosedive and neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor the corrupt BJP government can save it anymore," Surjewala told reporters.
He also claimed that the Congress stood firmly united while the BJP is running scared.
He alleged that while Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai "is not being respected anymore, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa is being insulted everyday".
Siddaramaiah said he had given an interview to a TV channel which misinterpreted it. He claimed that he never said that he will be the chief minister.
"I said in the interview that I am also an aspirant for the chief minister's post and, likewise, D K Shivakumar is also an aspirant for the chief minister's post. The aim of both of us is to defeat BJP and to bring back the Congress party to power," he said
"My statement in the interview is misinterpreted. What I said was I am an aspirant and Shivakumar is an aspirant and there is nothing wrong in being an aspirant," he said,
Ultimately, the newly-elected MLAs will have to elect the leader of the legislature party after the election, not now, and ultimately, the high command has to take a decision, he said.
Siddaramaiah claimed that there is a strong anti-incumbency against the BJP. He said the "state has never had such a corrupt government".
Shivakumar also said their purpose is to jointly remove the 'corrupt' BJP government from power in the state.
Meanwhile, hitting out at Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Bommai said they are fighting for the chief minister's post and their main focus is power and not the welfare of the people.
"People who have to decide (whom to elect), don't have both (leaders) in mind... Both are dreaming about the chief minister's seat, but it will not come true," Chief Minister Bommai said.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
