The former Chief Minister and State president of the JD(S), H. D. Kumaraswamy, has demanded that the BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa release the CD which he claims to have on three Congress MLAs.
Mr. Kumaraswamy told reporters on Thursday that instead of giving lame excuses and adopting delay tactics, Mr. Yeddyurappa should release the CD which he claims would shake the very root of the Congress government. “What and who is stopping him [Mr. Yeddyurappa] from releasing the CD when his own government is in power at the Centre and controls the top investigating agencies?” he asked.
With regard to the reports of the service records of Neelamani Raju, a senior IAS officer, disappearing, the JD(S) leader wondered how the government can save the lives of the common man if it can’t keep service documents safe.
In response to the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the JD(S) would not come to power in the State, Mr. Kumaraswamy asked if he was an astrologer to predict the future. “It is the people who decide who should be in the power and who should not. Let us wait and see who will be thrown out by the people,” he said.
On the controversial issue of eviction of tribals of the Diddalli settlement in Kodagu district, Mr. Kumaraswamy accused the government of not resolving the matter amicably.
On waiving loans
With regard to the waiving of crop loans, he demanded that the State government first waive its share of the amount before seeking Central assistance. “If the State government takes the first step, all the parties could exert pressure on the Union government to waive the loans borrowed by farmers from nationalised and commercial banks,” he said.
On the claim of Water Resources Minister M. B. Patil that the government has spent Rs. 40,000 crore on irrigation projects coming under the Upper Krishna Project Stage III, Mr. Kumaraswamy accused the government of giving out false information.
He also said he would be spending more time in North Karnataka to strengthen the JD(S) there.
