MLC Vishwanath criticises Sonia Gandhi for ‘‘not condoling’‘ the death of Krishna

A.H. Vishwanath, MLC, criticised senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for “not expressing her condolences” on the death former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday Mr. Vishwanath said Krishna worked for the revival of the fortunes of Congress for decades and brought glory to the party through many of his programmes.

 “It is true that he quit the party and joined the BJP but that was a political move and one should eschew politics after the demise of a person and recall their contribution,” he added.

Terming the issue as saddening, the MLC said this was not something new with the Congress high command and alleged that when former Chief Minister Devaraj Urs died, then too the party high command did not express condolence not withstanding the contribution of Urs to the State.

“A similar approach was adopted when former Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, and Chandrashekar passed away and no condolence was passed,” he added.

Mr. Vishwanath said Krishna practised politics of development and not politics of hate and appealed to political leadership in the country. “To abandon the mindset of not condoling someone in case they do not belong to the same party. Party affiliations should not matter when it comes to condoling the death of someone and only their contributions should matter,” he added.

In this context, he recalled that it was S.M. Krishna who introduced the mid-day meal programme for school children that reduced the school dropout rate in the State apart from launching the Yashaswini health scheme that provided affordable health care for farmers. He also floated the Sthree Shakti programme and self-help groups were formed for empowerment of women in rural areas, said Mr. Vishwanath.

However, Mr. Vishwanath praised the Congress government in the State and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for ensuring an orderly funeral and last rites befitting the stature of Krishna.

Mr. Vishwanath also criticised private companies and corporates in the State for not condoling the death of Krishna and sought to remind them that they were flourishing because of the latter’s policies.  The outer ring road in Mysuru is his brain child and there should be a plaque to commemorate him, he added.

Published - December 12, 2024 07:29 pm IST