Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said here on Monday that the administrative machinery in the State had collapsed owing to a ‘Cold War’ between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
Speaking to presspersons here, he said that the recent unrest in the police force and the resignation of the Kudlagi Deputy Superintendent of Police Anupama Shenoy indicated the derailing of the administration in the State.
“The State government has somehow managed to tackle the crisis in the Police Department. But the incident highlighted the prevailing discontent in the department.
“Lack of steps to address the issues related to the police personnel and their welfare was the prime reason for their discontent. The tug of war between Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Parameshwar came in the way of reforms in the Police Department,” Mr. Kumar said.
It was unfortunate that the government had taken the resignation of Ms. Shenoy lightly.
The Chief Minister was behaving as if he had no information about what was happening with Ms. Shenoy.
“What was the intelligence wing doing? Doesn’t it show that the administrative machinery has collapsed in the State?” Mr. Kumar asked.
About sting operation showing legislators seeking money for votes, he said that Mr. Siddaramaiah was responsible for those incidents.
“The ruling party should have had avoided an unhealthy contest by not fielding additional candidates and thus ensuing smooth elections to the Upper House. By fielding more candidates, Mr. Siddaramaiah provided scope for unethical practices like horse trading,” Mr. Kumar added.
Blame
Meanwhile, addressing teachers and graduates at an election meeting in Belagavi, he said that the Chief Minister and Home Minister were directly responsible for the situation wherein the police personnel were up in arms seeking better pay packages and better working and living conditions.
Mr. Kumar said that the cold war between the two top Congress leaders had left the 6.5-crore population suffering for one or the other reasons since their government came into power in the State three years ago.
“Is this government not aware of the 50 per cent vacancies in the department and the problems faced by the police personnel when it comes to accommodation?”, he asked.
“You were busy with your cold war and neglected the problems of the police personnel and the department’s functioning,” Mr. Kumar added.
