Siddaramaiah slams people of Badami for voting for BJP
Bengaluru, Jun 27: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Thursday flayed the people of Badami, his assembly constituency, for voting for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election and ignoring those who "believe in development".
Siddaramaiah said the Congress government carried out several development works in the constituency but the people still voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Badami comes under the Bagalkot Lok Sabha constituency from where BJP's Gaddigoudar Parvatagouda Chandana Gowda won defeating Congress candidate Veena Kashappanavar by a margin of over one lakh votes.
Addressing a gathering at Badami in Bagalkot district of North Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said, "In this Badami region, BJP gets 9,000 votes lead (in Lok Sabha election). I don't know what (good) they (BJP) have done that people vote for them. I can't understand."
"We built the panchayat building. We are the ones who gave rice and paddy, we waived the loans, we built tanks for agriculture, we offered Vidya Siri scheme," the Congress Legislature Party leader said.
"You don't vote for those who believe in development," Siddaramaiah added.
When a man stood up to reply, Siddaramaiah asked him whether he was from the BJP.
Some locals of Badami have reportedly launched a campaign-- 'Where is our MLA?' alleging that Siddaramaiah had neglected the constituency as he spends most of his time in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
The Congress leader's outburst comes a day after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy lost his cool and shouted at a group of workers of Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) in Raichur district when they approached him with a list of grievances.
"You voted for Narendra Modi and want me to get your works done! You want me to give you respect. Should I order a lathi-charge? Leave the place," Kumaraswamy told the YTPS employees, leaving onlookers shocked.
Later, Kumaraswamy told a television channel that he had sought 15 days time to address the workers' grievances but they blocked the road which made him angry.
Asked to comment on Kumaraswamy's outburst, Siddaramaiah said it was not correct to react without knowing the context of his statement.
The BJP, however, slammed the Congress and the JD(S), and said that their public show of displeasure was a result of their "desperation".
BJP spokesperson Go Madhusudan warned that his party would stage protests if the coalition partners continue blaming the people for their poor performance in the Lok Sabha election.
"The coalition partners (Congress and JD-S) are not been able to digest their defeat in the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka," he told PTI.
He said all these days they were blaming each other for the defeat.
"Since they have to continue in the government, they can't afford to accuse each other. Hence, they found a way out and started blaming the people of the state who have voted for BJP," Madhusudan said.
Despite their denial, the Lok Sabha results were a referendum on the functioning of their government, he said and claimed that such statements indicated bickering and the imminent fall of the government.
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Shocking tragedy: Kharge on Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi's death
New Delhi (PTI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday condoled the death of Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash and said Indians stand with the people of Iran in this time of grief.
According to state media, Raisi, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others were found dead at the site of the crash in East Azerbaijan province on Monday after an hours-long search through a foggy and mountainous region.
In a post on X, Kharge said, "The Indian National Congress is anguished and dismayed by the passing away of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the shocking tragedy."
"India-Iran relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions. Every Indian joins in extending our heartfelt condolences to his family. In this time of grief, we stand with the people of Iran," the Congress president said.
