Karnataka: Vokkaligas have backed former PM Deve Gowda for 30 years, will continue to do so: Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru, Sep 19 (IANS) Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that former Minister and Congress MLA K.N. Rajanna’s statement that the Vokkaliga community would continue to support former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda was not an exaggeration, asserting that the community had supported his father for the last 30 years and would continue to do so.

It can be noted that Kumaraswamy is the son of Deve Gowda.

Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy both hail from the Vokkaliga community which plays a significant role in terms of numbers in South Karnataka region.

In the 2023 Assembly polls, Shivakumar was successful in attracting Vokkaliga votes towards the Congress and helped the party to get a thumping majority in Karnataka.

Responding to Rajanna’s statement while speaking to media in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said that the Vokkaliga community would not support Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar but would back Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy said the Congress MLA had expressed his feelings and there was nothing exaggerated in his remarks.

“This community has been supporting us in our region for the last 30 years against the backdrop of Deve Gowda’s struggle. There is no exaggeration in Rajanna’s statement,” he added.

He said that several people from the Vokkaliga community had approached him and asked him to allow Shivakumar, who belongs to the community, to function freely as the Karnataka Chief Minister.

“I tell them that I will forget everything from the past and will not discuss it for any reason. If good administration is delivered in the coming days, for which he has got an opportunity, we will extend our complete support,” he added.

Kumaraswamy, however, said that support to a Chief Minister should not be based on caste and that anyone occupying the post had a responsibility to work for all sections of society.

“Whoever becomes the Chief Minister cannot function confined to one community. It is the duty and responsibility of the state government and the Chief Minister to protect the interests of 6.5 crore people of the state,” he added.

He questioned whether all members of a community would automatically lead prosperous lives merely because a person from that community became the Chief Minister, and said politics should not be conducted on such lines.

“People’s love and affection will come when we work for them. We have to win people over through our work. There is no use in doing politics in the name of caste,” Kumaraswamy said.

Responding to allegations that he was adopting a “hit-and-run” tactic by levelling charges against the Congress government, Union Minister Kumaraswamy challenged the Minister for Home, IT and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge to first answer questions regarding the appointment of 24 Assistant Executive Engineers (AEE) through the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

“Let Priyank Kharge answer first regarding the appointment of 24 AEE engineers through KPSC. How and why was it done? How could it be done illegally? Let him answer these questions first. Till date, no answer has come from his side,” he added.

Kumaraswamy said that he would demonstrate what “hit-and-run” meant at an appropriate time.

“I will show what hit-and-run is. The time will also decide. Let anyone talk and ridicule,” he added.

On the NICE project, Kumaraswamy questioned whether the state government was implementing the directions of the Supreme Court and High Court and sought answers on the alleged irregularities surrounding the project.

“What has happened in the NICE project? Are they implementing the Supreme Court and High Court guidelines? How can they distribute sites? Whose land is it?” he asked.

–IANS

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