Bellad fires salvo at Siddaramaiah

Dharwad: Hubballi-Dharwad West MLA Arvind Bellad slammed Opposition leader Siddaramaiah for the latter's remark that Lingayat chief ministers are corrupt.Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Bellad said he considered Siddaramaiah an experienced politician but the former chief minister has proved him wrong. “Siddaramaiah is making irresponsible and insensitive remarks. His IQ level dropped after he moved with Rahul Gandhi, so he makes such statements. There are corrupt people in all sections of society and if Siddaramaiah had spoken about the corrupt class, it would have been fine. But he has accused a particular religious community as corrupt and Lingayats will not tolerate this,” Bellad said.

Stating that Congress has a tradition of corrupt practices such as the 2G scam, coal scam and other scams, Bellad said Siddaramaiah is frustrated at the prospect of facing V Somanna in Varuna and out of fear of losing, he is making statements against Lingayats.He said he would fight for a development agenda and not harp on caste.On former Bayaluseeme Development Board chairman Tavanappa Astagi who filed nomination for Dharwad Rural Assembly constituency as an Independent, defecting to Congress, Bellad said Astagi is basically a businessman and joined BJP from Congress for personal gains. .