PayCM: Minister K Sudhakar says Congress targeting Bommai as he is Lingayat
Bengaluru, Sep 23: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Saturday alleged that the Congress launched the 'PayCM' campaign targeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai because the party cannot tolerate a Chief Minster from the major Lingayat community.
But, Bommai distanced himself from a discussion.
I am not a party to that statement and will not comment, Bommai said in Chitradurga.
Speaking to reporters here, Sudhakar said, Whoever gives good governance, especially if there are strong Lingayat chief ministers, they (Congress) drag them out. People of the State are taking note of it.
Congress has always done that. They always target major community. This is not the first time. They did not spare Kengal Hanumanthaiah. Whom did they spare? Whoever is the Chief Minister from the major community, this is their constant approach, the Minister added.
According to him, the Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party government is providing a clean administration. In the last 14 months, people believe him as a people's chief minister. He is giving a good governance, which Congress leaders are not able to tolerate, he charged.
Sudhakar said the PayCM campaign shows the desperation of the Congress to come back to power. The Opposition party has sealed whatever little chances it had in Karnataka.
The Minister recalled how actor Akhil Iyer took objection to the use of his photograph without his permission in the campaign, citing the actor's tweet where he warned Congress of legal action.
You would have seen yesterday (Friday), they did the campaign in the name of actor Akhil Iyer. What did he say yesterday? He said without his knowledge or seeking his permission his photo was used. He said he will take legal action. It is obvious how malafide this smear campaign is, he charged.
Alleging that the PayCM was filled with malafide political intent, Sudhakar sought to know: "Are these Congress leaders Satya Harishchandra?' How many of these have returned from jail and how many are out on bail? Aren't they ashamed of talking politics and corruption?
He said the top Congress leaders in Karnataka, who are talking about corruption are out on bail.
Sudhakar said the party has no moral right to speak on corruption because it lost power due to maladministration.
The Congress launched the PayCM campaign, putting out posters in public places with a QR code with a visible image of Bommai in the middle. Upon scanning, the QR Code redirects to a website 40percentsarkara.com launched by the Congress 10 days ago.
When the general Assembly elections are just eight months away, the party launched the campaign accusing the Bommai government of indulging in corruption.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
