Progressive thinkers extend support to former CM to ‘save democracy’

Mysuru: Progressive thinkers led by former advocate general Ravivarma Kumar on Thursday extended their support to opposition leader Siddaramaiah terming him as a leader who has worked for the welfare of people cutting across all barriers.Speaking to reporters, Kumar said that it was important to support Siddaramaiah to uphold the ethics of democracy and avoid the country lurching towards dictatorship. “PM Modi has not addressed mediapersons in the past nine years, which is the first step towards dictatorship. Every single victory of the BJP will push the country towards dictatorship,” he said.Kumar also added that the BJP, unable to give an answer for issues like price rise and corruption allegations, has been diverting attention by attacking Siddaramaiah and other opposition leaders. He alleged that the RSS is running the country and claimed that it was BJP national general secretary BL Santosh who decided the fate of BJP candidates. He claimed that the Bommai government’s new reservation was a political gimmick. “The state government has not even written a letter about the new reservation quotas to the governor,” he said. Kumar said that the state government has abolished reservation for Muslims terming it as “anti-constitutional” as reservation cannot be provided on the basis of religion. “But, the same government has included Jains, Buddhists and Christians in the new policy. Isn’t it anti-constitutional,” he questioned.Kumar said that JD(S) has lost its relevance and termed it as an agent of BJP.Other progressive thinkers, who spoke on the occasion, said that there was a conspiracy to defeat Siddaramaiah in the Varuna constituency. K Mahadev, president of the University of Mysore Retired Employees Association called on the members to support Siddaramaiah and Congress candidates in their respective constituencies to save democracy.Retired IGP K Arkesh, former MLC Y Mahesh, among others, were present.