The public spat between disqualified MLA A.H. Vishwanath and K.R. Nagar MLA S.R. Mahesh continued unabated with both the politicians engaging in a bitter exchange of words on Sunday.
While Mr. Vishwanath blamed Mr. Mahesh for the “misfortunes” afflicting the Janata Dal (Secular) and its top brass H.D. Deve Gowda and family, the latter hit back stating that he had not “sold” himself for political gains. The two shared an uneasy relationship even when Mr. Vishwanath was in the JD(S) and the simmering discontent has come out in the open ever since he joined the rebel MLAs.
Mr. Vishwanath, who spoke to mediapersons at K.R. Nagar, said Mr. Mahesh and his coterie were responsible for the tears being shed by Mr. Deve Gowda. “The arrogance of Mr. Mahesh led to the entire Vokkaliga community distancing itself from the party,” he said. He accused Mr. Mahesh of practising petty politics marked by cash distribution. “I believe and have always practised the politics of development,” he claimed.
Mr. Mahesh, who was in Mysuru, hit back stating that a person accused of engineering the collapse of the coalition government has no moral right to speak against him. “Let Mr. Vishwanath introspect if he has any conscience before levelling baseless charges against me,” he said.
“Mr. Vishwanath was harbouring dreams of becoming the Chief Minister in 2004 and in 2008, but I trounced him in the elections and ever since he has a running feud with me,” he added.
GTD clarifies
Meanwhile, G.T. Deve Gowda, MLA for Chamundeshwari, explained his presence with the BJP leaders and said he was in Bengaluru with them to extend an invitation to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for Dasara.
