Siddaramaiah finding difficult to defend his govt. following corruption allegations: Kumaraswamy

Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the Karnataka CM could not defend himself during the debate in the Legislature session. ‘He entrusted five Ministers of the Cabinet to address the media before he could give his reply in the session,’ he said.

Shivamogga

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been engaged in all sorts of exercises to defend himself following allegations of corruption against his government,” said Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy in Hassan on July 21

Speaking to media, on Sunday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the CM could not defend himself during the debate in the Legislature session. “He entrusted five Ministers of the Cabinet to address the media before he could give his reply in the session. Besides that, he gave interviews to the media as an exercise before facing the session. All these efforts show that he is finding it difficult to defend his government,” he said.

Referring to the alleged corruption in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the issue would not have come out if Chandrashekharan had not committed suicide. “Whether it is misuse of ₹187 crore, ₹94 crore, or even ₹90 it is corruption. Now, the government has taken a decision to transfer money from all corporations to the treasury. I had made this suggestion in 2017 itself,” he said.

Further, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the CM had made 21 fresh charges against BJP leaders. Mr. Siddaramaiah had been CM for five years. Later, he worked as the leader of the Opposition. “Now, he raised some of the issues related to 2010–11. What was he doing all these years? Why did he not raise those issues all these days?” he questioned.

Regarding the JD(S) party activities in Hassan district, the party MLAs had been putting pressure on him to hold a party convention in Hassan. “We will strengthen the party’s organisation in Hassan under the leadership of former minister H.D. Revanna,” he said.

At present, he said, Revanna’s family has been facing some problems. However, his contribution to the development of the district was immense. The people of the district would not forge it, he said. JD(S) MLAs A. Manju, H.P. Swaroop, C.N. Balakrishna, and others were present.