Whether it was floods or COVID-19, people of Karnataka have been left to fend for themselves as BJP legislators had deserted them to camp in Bengaluru to lobby for ministerial berths, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah has said.
The former Chief Minister is visiting flood and rain affected places in Uttar Kannada district.
He told mediapersons in Karwar on August 2 that at a time when stringent measures were required to check the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate sufferings of flood-affected people, the Chief Minister is repeatedly visiting Delhi for Cabinet formation.
“All BJP legislators are camping in Bengaluru to lobby for ministerial berths. Nobody is going to their constituency to help people. For them, becoming a Minister has become more important than people's lives,” he alleged.
Primary job
Mr. Siddaramaiah said preventing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka should be the primary job of the State government. “Already, the third wave has entered neighbouring States of Maharashtra and Kerala. As the number of people visiting Karnataka from these States had increased, there is a need for strict vigil at the borders,” he said.
He demanded that those who have not received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine should not be allowed to enter Karnataka.
No criticism
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he would not criticise Basavaraj Bommai as he had recently become the Chief Minister, but would request him to focus on resolving problems of Karnataka.
He said that the government should ensure that the situation did not demand imposition of lockdown again. “From the last two days, daily infection is around 2,000. If the number crosses 2,000, it means that the third wave has started,” he said.
On former minister M.P. Renukacharya getting a court injunction against telecast of any defamatory video, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that mostly he was caught doing some illegal or immoral act. “There are so many politicians. Leaving all of them, why would anyone record videos of Renukayya and Sadanand Gowda. Their story is of the guilt in them,” he said.
‘Cultureless’
Mr. Siddaramaiah said BJP leaders behave as if they are the champions of culture and pose as most cultured and decent leaders. “But in reality, they are the most cultureless and coarse,” he said.
He said the JD(S) is no longer a secular party. “The party had dropped secularism a long time ago.” Referring to his time in the JD(S), he said it is not the same party now.
