Bommai says he is aggrieved by Siddaramaiah’s ‘blatant’ lies

Campaigning for his son Bharath Bommai in Shiggaon, the BJP MP has said that the lies spread by the Congress are the reason for the maximum number of deaths in the country

The former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is campaigning for his son and BJP candidate Bharath Bommai in the Shiggaon byelections, has taken strong exception to allegations made against him by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He has said that he is aggrieved by the Chief Minister telling such “blatant” lies for the sake of winning an election.

Speaking to presspersons in Shiggaon on Tuesday, Mr. Bommai said that the lies spread by the Congress are the reason for the maximum number of deaths in the country.

During the initial days of COVID-19, the Congress action in supporting people not wearing masks and those spitting in public resulted in an increase in the number of deaths due to the pandemic, he said.

Mr. Bommai said that on the vaccination issue also, the Congress engaged in a misinformation campaign during the early days of vaccination. “We don’t know what they would have done if their government were to be in power? But on the COVID-19 pandemic issue, the Congress action was immoral,” he said.

On Siddaramaiah’s remark about not a single house being built during his tenure, Mr. Bommai said that in the last 10 years, 8,000 houses have been built under various housing schemes and 2,000 houses under the Slum Development Board in Shiggaon.

“The beneficiaries themselves are coming out openly to announce that he (Bommai) built houses for them. Today, at Hiremanakatti village, a woman showed her house for which he had sanctioned ₹5 lakh. So, instead of making statement based on a worker’s information, Mr. Siddaramaiah should himself tour the constituency to know reality,” he said.

Without discrimination

Later, campaigning for the party candidate at Hiremanikatti village, Mr. Bommai made a veiled attack on the Chief Minister without taking his name. He said that the ignorance and honesty of the members of Halumata (Kuruba) community is being misused by some for taking political mileage.

Mr. Bommai said that when in power as Minister and also as Chief Minister, he initiated development works without any discrimination towards caste and community. He said that right from his father’s days, he shared a good rapport with the community.

He appealed to the electorate to vote for his son if they want to see development without any discrimination during the coming days.

Addressing party workers in Shiggaon, Mr. Bommai said that Congress leaders have no moral right to take the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar as they are the ones who handed out defeat to Dr. Ambedkar in elections.

He said that Congress leaders have swallowed ₹190 crore of Valmiki Development Corporation, meant for development of the Scheduled Tribes and they have also not released funds meant for the welfare of the backward communities.

On Tuesday, the former Ministers Byrati Basavaraj and B. Sriramulu and BJP MP Govind Karjol and others campaigned for the party candidate at various places in the Assembly segment.

Published - November 05, 2024 08:21 pm IST