BENGALURU:
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah
and chairman of the Congress-JD(S) coordination committee is busy dealing with widening fissures in the ruling alliance.
With senior leaders and cadres of both parties clashing, all eyes are on him since it’s his responsibility to bring the two camps together and ensure victory of the coalition candidates. At a media interaction on Monday, he was at pains to explain why the 2019 elections wouldn’t be the same as 2014 and why the
Narendra Modi-led NDA
wouldn’t win.
At a time when JD(S) and Congress workers have come to blows, you’re trying put up a united front. How will you ensure these factions work as a unit?The Congress and JD(S) are traditional rivals in this part of Karnataka and it’s natural that sparks fly when they work together. There are hiccups here and there, but, we’ll will sort them out. Deve Gowda and I have decided to campaign jointly and this will solve all the problems.
In Mysuru, where you’re personally leading the campaign, JD(S) leaders, including GT Deve Gowda, didn’t attend the poll meeting…These leaders regularly attend our meetings. Seniors, including SaRa Mahesh, are actively involved in campaigning. Minister GT Deve Gowda couldn’t attend one meetings for personal reasons, but he’s with us completely. As far as JD(S) state president H Vishwanath’s statement that he talks to me through eyes is concerned, he may have been poetic since he is also a writer...
The BJP is claiming Modi’s popularity has increased in these five years. What are your party’s plans to stop the BJP’s march?There’s a clear difference in the situation ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the present. Then, people believed in Modi’s promises. Now, they have come to know he hasn’t delivered. While he has nothing to say about the achievements of his five-year tenure, he is fomenting sentiments of nationalism. People won’t get carried away this time. There’s no Modi wave whatsoever.
BJP is asking about the economic rationale of Rahul Gandhi’s NYAY which envisages granting Rs 6,000 per month to each poor person…By opposing the minimum income scheme, BJP is proving it’s anti-poor. Modi announced the scheme to grant Rs 6,000 per year to poor, which is inadequate. But he criticises us when we want to help the poor. He even termed the farm loan waiver scheme a lollipop. NYAY is feasible as Rs 6,000 per month can be given to the poor since the country’s budget is about Rs 25 lakh crore and it’ll grow.
What’s the justification for the protest by JD(S)-Congress leaders at the income-tax office when its officials were raiding a few officials and contractors?The I-T department is only targeting leaders of opposition parties. When it comes to BS Yeddyurappa’s diary pages, it quickly issues a statement which absolves him. This shows how the Modi government is misusing central agencies.
Will you highlight these issues in your campaign?Yes. This election is being fought on Modi vs Rahul Gandhi or ruling party vs opposition coalition. It’s being fought on dictatorship v/s democracy.
BJP leaders are sure the JD(S)- Congress government will fall after the Lok Sabha polls…BJP leaders, led by Yeddyurappa, tried to desperately topple our government, but they didn’t succeed. Their efforts will continue after the polls, but the government won’t fall.