JDS pulls out of march against Siddaramaiah, BJP in a fix

BENGALURU: JDS on Wednesday pulled out of the proposed seven-day Bengaluru-Mysuru padayatra on Aug 3 to press for Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's resignation over the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) scam, putting its ally BJP in a fix.

JDS state president and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy has refused to support the padayatra, expressing anger over invitation to Preetham J Gowda, former MLA of Hassan. Kumaraswamy was present at the BJP-JDS meeting on Sunday that finalised the padayatra plan. On Wednesday, he expressed frustration that neither he nor his party functionaries were consulted on the padayatra schedule. "From Bengaluru to Mysuru, it is JDS which is strong. How can you neglect us or take such a decision without consulting us?" he said.

"There's confusion between JDS and BJP over the padayatra. Our national leadership is in the process of clearing that confusion. I'm confident the padayatra will go on as per plan," stated BY Vijayendra, state BJP president. However, some BJP functionaries hinted the padayatra might be postponed by a week.

Talking to mediapersons, Kumaraswamy asked whether he should share the stage with the person (Preetham Gowda) who "poisoned the Deve Gowda family".

"When they (BJP) are not ready to take us into confidence, then why should we give support to them (BJP)? They (BJP) must tell us how they treated us regarding the padayatra. What are they trying to achieve? I'm hurt, it pains me. Who is Preetham Gowda? He's the one who tried to destroy the Gowda family. They (BJP) bring him on stage and make him sit with me. Who is responsible for the distribution of those pen drives (in Prajwal Revanna's case)?" Kumaraswamy said. He added that a padayatra won't yield any result as far as Muda scam is concerned. "Instead, we need to fight this issue legally."