I’m fed up with electoral politics: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, November 5: “I am fed up with the electoral politics. I will be in politics. But I will not be in electoral politics”, former chief minister Siddaramaiah reiterated.
Speaking at a Kannada Rajyotsava and felicitation programme organized by the FKCCI here on Monday, Siddaramaiah said that “I have faced 13 national and state level elections in his political career and I have won in eight elections. Now, I am 71 and I am still MLA. By the time I complete this tenure, I would be 75. So, I have decided to stay away from electoral politics”, he said.
“I have not come to politics either for power or making money. Political field is a service sector. We have the responsibility of fulfilling our aims for which we are in politics. I have done my work honestly to ensure justice to the poor, backwards and exploited classes”, he said.
“Vested interests are there in the society and they are against the progressive thoughts. But I have not worried about it. Some people accused me of dividing the religion. But I have not divided the religion. Basavanna had opposed the superstitious beliefs 800 years ago and advocated ‘kayaka dasoha’.Buddha and Ambedkar were also on the same path. So, I am proud that I have followed the same path”, he claimed.
JDS leader PGR Sidhya said that though Siddaramaiah has done work for all castes and religions, he was restricted to one community which is not right. People should stop seeing a leader with narrow mindset. Siddaramaiah was the only chief minister who followed the ideologies of Basavanna, he said.
Some vested interests have tried to misuse Siddaramaiah politically. But no one could keep him away from politics. He was close to former chief ministers JH Patel and S Nijalingappa. Now, JDS national leaders also wanted him to be in politics. So, it was the responsibility of everyone to keep him in active politics. So, he should enter the national politics in future, he said.
Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, FKCCI president CR Janardhan, vice president Perikal M Sundar and others were present.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
