DK Shivakumar loses cool at reporters for ‘pitching him against Kumaraswamy’ by sharing false info
BENGALURU, Nov 22: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday claimed that “horse trading” of Congress MLAs is underway in Karnataka amid the alleged power tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
He also claimed Shivakumar’s visit to jailed MLAs Vinay Kulkarni and K C Veerendra, also known as Puppy, in Bengaluru Central Prison was aimed at securing their support.“There is infighting in Congress. Siddaramaiah does not want to leave the CM’s position, and Shivakumar does not want Siddaramaiah to continue as CM,” Joshi told reporters here.“Because of such a situation, both the camps are trying to purchase MLAs. You might have seen that Shivakumar has gone to jail to meet the MLAs to seek their support and pay whatever their price is,” he added.
According to Joshi, the situation has reached a point where “horse trading” of Congress MLAs is going on. The administration in Karnataka “has collapsed due to the ongoing power tussle.” “The state is witnessing misadministration as there is no one to address issues arising from excess rains and poor road infrastructure,” the union minister claimed.He also criticised Bengaluru police, once on par with Delhi and Mumbai, saying “daylight robberies are now common”, without elaborating much.
“Because of political instability, lack of direction, guidance, and control over bureaucracy, the administration has totally collapsed. It is in doldrums,” Joshi alleged.
On Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding a maize price crash due to the alleged import of 17.94 lakh metric tonnes, Joshi said the figures were false.
DKS LOSES COOL
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday lost his cool at a section of the media persons for allegedly pitting him against Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy by sharing false information to provoke sensational statement.He even warned them of dire consequences.During a press conference, a few journalists sought Shivakumar’s reaction on Kumaraswamy’s purported statement on Saturday that the Karnataka government would collapse anytime soon and that he (Shivakumar) was in touch with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.Slamming Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar said he may file a defamation suit against the Union minister for such statement.
Moments later, the his team discovered that Kumaraswamy, who is JD(S) second-in-command, had not said anything like that.At an event to commemorate the silver jubilee of JD(S), Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that some “explosive developments” were in the offing and asked his cadres to “remain close to the people and respond to their hardships”. (PTI)
