This is the last session for Siddaramaiah as he will resign soon thereafter, says Vijayendra

His own party MLAs are unhappy with him as they accuse him of not releasing enough funds for development, according to the BJP State president

The winter session of the State Legislature will be the last one for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as he will resign soon thereafter, BJP State unit president B.Y. Vijayendra said in Belagavi on Thursday.

“The Chief Minister is embroiled in several controversies, including the MUDA site allotment controversy and funds diversion in the Valmiki Corporation. What is more, his own party MLAs are unhappy with him as they accuse him of not releasing enough funds for development. For all these reasons, he will resign after the session,” Mr. Vijayendra told reporters.

During his visit to Belagavi a few months ago, Mr. Vijayendra had said that the winter session will be held under a new Chief Minister.

“It seems that the post of the Chief Minister is up for auction. There are several contenders in the Congress,” Mr. Vijayendra said.

To a query, he said that he has no idea who will be the next Chief Minister.

He said that the Congress allegation that the BJP is planning another Operation Lotus of engineering defection of Congress MLAs by paying ₹50 crore to 50 MLAs is baseless.

“We only have 66 MLAs. The Congress is accusing us for no reason. The Congress is making such allegations as Mr. Siddaramaiah is scared,” he said.

He reiterated that the BJP has not contacted any Congress MLAs. He said that his party legislators will take the government to task for what he called anti-people governance and the scandals it is involved in.

He said that the fight in the Waqf issue will continue beyond the winter session. “Since my father and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s time, the BJP is fighting for the interests of farmers. The Waqf issue affects farmers immediately. Hence, the agitation,” he said.

He said that he will not bother about the opposition by dissident leaders like Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. “He has expressed displeasure with the choice of committees formed by me for the anti-Waqf agitation. But I am satisfied,” he said.

To a query about Mr. Yatnal describing the committees as destitute and isolated, Mr. Vijayendra said: “Let us see who becomes destitute later.”

He sad that the State government has neglected Kalyan Karnataka and Mumbai Karnataka regions. He said that he is confident that NDA candidates will win in all the three seats in the bypolls.

Published - November 21, 2024 08:21 pm IST