Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of turning the democratic values in the State upside down with the help of money, power and the caste politics.
Speaking at the launch of Yuvadhwani campaign by the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC), he described the four-year BJP rule in the State as “dark chapter” in the political history of Karnataka.
‘People insecure’
People in the State, especially minorities, backward classes and women, were feeling insecure after the BJP coming to power, Mr. Siddaramaiah said. While the Reddys created “Republic of Bellary” and made it their fiefdom, Hindutva outfits were ruling coastal districts and making life of minorities miserable.
The Reddys, who helped their party “purchase” legislators, with the ill-gotten wealth they amassed through the illegal mining, remote-controlled the government. “B.S. Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister could not enter Bellary without their permission,” he regretted.
It had become difficult for a Hindu girl to befriend a Muslim boy and vice-versa in coastal districts.
They would be beaten and cases booked by the police against them. Authorities were crawling in front of Sangh Parivar chiefs, who were dictating terms. Chairperson, Karnataka State Women’s Commission Manjula, was contradicting the report of the police in the Mangalore “homestay” incident and speaking as if victims have committed sacrilege. “What kind of justice people can expect from the government of the kind? he asked.
Supplementing allegations and accusations made by Mr. Siddaramaiah, President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee G. Parameshwara, said the KPYCC would get preference in allocation of tickets in the coming elections to Assembly.
