Taking a dig at the Opposition BJP for fielding Rajeev Chandrasekhar for the Rajya Sabha elections from the State, the governing Congress has alleged that the BJP “cheated Karnataka” by repeatedly nominating and electing non-Kannadigas as representatives of the State in the Upper House.
In a 10-page “chargesheet” — NamageMosa: BJP cheats Karnataka, the Congress on Tuesday asked, “Can non-Kannadigas really represent the State’s interests in Parliament? Are there no people from the State for the BJP to choose from?”
Earlier, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu were elected to the Rajya Sabha from the State. Following protests, Mr. Naidu was later elected to the Upper House from Rajasthan in 2016.
In its’ counter, the BJP described Mr. Chandrasekhar as a person who has “consistently raised issues of importance on Bengaluru and Karnataka”. The party particularly cited the “steel flyover scam”.
Other ‘charges’
Besides this, in the list of 10 case of “cheating” by the BJP to the State, the Congress said the State government had sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in resolving the Mahadayi water dispute issue on several occasions. But the Modi government had refused to comment on the matter, the Congress alleged. The Centre had also not taken a decision on holding competitive written tests in Kannada language for regional rural banks. Exams were conducted only in Hindi and English.
Sankeshwar’s stand
Meanwhile, in Hubballi, industrialist and former MP Vijay Sankeshwar on Tuesday refuted reports that he was upset over his candidature not being considered by the BJP for the Rajya Sabha elections. He said he was happy that Mr. Chandrasekhar had been given the BJP ticket. He told reporters that Mr. Chandrasekhar was a “good friend” of his and he was a “Kannadiga” like him.
