Continuing her tirade against illegal mining in the vicinity of Krishna Raja Sagar in Mandya district, the Independent MP from Mandya Sumalatha on Sunday said she would raise the illegal mining issue in Parliament again and seek stringent action against those involved.
“I have already raised the issue in Parliament twice in the past. Even in the next Parliament session, I will do so,” she told reporters here. “My fight is not personal and not against any individual. This is not a fight against (former Chief Minister) H.D. Kumaraswamy also. My fight is against the inconvenience due to mining in my district,” she said.
The actor-turned-MP and Mr. Kumaraswamy have been engaged in a verbal duel over illegal mining in Mandya for a week. “I will appeal to fans of [the late] Ambareesh to not tread the same path taken by Mr. Kumaraswamy or his associates. My appeal to them is to tread the peaceful path in our fight,” she said, adding that if necessary she would meet Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa again.
On Sunday, she also took to Twitter and sent out a series of messages using the hashtags #SaveKRSDam and #StopIllegalMining. “When you stand up for truth, several enemies will be born. Some are intolerant of women in power. Those who are corrupt can harass officials with integrity with threats of transfer and pressure. Sad that they cannot transfer an MP!” she tweeted.
DKS chimes in
Meanwhile, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar, who was earlier Minister for Water Resources and Mandya district in-charge under the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, claimed, “No one discussed illegal mining in Mandya during my tenure. No damage will happen if gravel stones are produced 10 to 15 km away.” He also said that the Mining Ministry would take up the responsibility and the Geology Department was monitoring things too.
Mr. Shivakumar added, “There are hundreds of engineers on site. They will manage it. We should not create unnecessary anxiety among people. I will not engage in such publicity-seeking cheap stunts or tolerate them. Moreover, this is a sensitive issue. KRS is the property of the country. We shouldn’t create panic over it.”
