Bangalore: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the re-entry of B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu into the BJP would not help that party in the Lok Sabha polls, as people have not forgotten the misdeeds of the BJP government in the State.
In an interaction with the media in Bangalore on Monday, Siddaramaiah said the BJP had claimed that the party had been cleansed following the exit of Yeddyurappa, but had taken him back even before the charges against him were cleared.
He said the people had taught the BJP a lesson by voting its government out in the Assembly polls in 2013 and the same voting pattern would continue in the Lok Sabha elections.
He said he had addressed more than 100 election rallies in the State and people everywhere had appreciated his government’s programmes for the poor and farmers.
The Congress has the prospect of winning at least 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the State, he said. The government’s programmes such as the Anna Bhagya schemes, waiver of loans and priority for agriculture had struck a chord among the electorate, he said.
On the controversy surrounding litterateurs supporting the Congress, Siddaramaiah said they too were voters and had every right to express their opinion.
He rubbished reports that he was instrumental in denying ticket to senior leader C K Jaffer Sharief and pointed out that it was the party central election committee that decided candidatures.
When asked whether Congress was into ‘Operation Hasta’ in Belgaum and Uttara Kannada as the JD(S) candidates withdrew from the fray, the chief minister said that in Belgaum, the JD(S) nominee Nasir Bagwan voluntarily withdrew and supported the Congress. In Uttara Kannada, the JD(S) nominee withdrew the papers.
“If JD(S) workers or leaders do not have faith in their leaders, what can we do? They took voluntary decisions in which we had no role. We are not into Operation Hasta (hand).”
