The debate over postings for officials belonging to Veerashaiva/Lingayat community continued on Sunday with former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy coming in support of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
“Mr. Shivashankarappa has been bold in expressing his opinion. It is not important to say that Veerashaiva Lingayats have been given postings, but it is important what positions have been given to them,” the former Chief Minister told presspersons at Bidadi on Sunday.
Wading into the controversy that has had its impact on the Congress already, he said: “What is the use if officials from the community are posted to useless posts. It is important to know which official has got which post.” He said that he was aware of the situation of officials belonging to other communities. “There is dissatisfaction among officials and this will explode during (parliamentary) elections,” he said.
Earlier, addressing party leaders and workers from Ramanagara district where he outlined the contours of the party’s alliance with BJP, Mr. Kumaraswamy blamed Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for bringing down his government in 2019, and said that he fell victim to the Belagavi politics.
“The 2019 government fell because of Mr. Sivakumar and not me. I became a scapegoat. Otherwise, Ramesh Jarkiholi and I did not have any problems. Why did he (Mr. Shivakumar) interfere in Belagavi politics? Today, he (Mr. Shivakumar) is shedding crocodile tears,” Mr. Kumaraswamy told his partymen from Ramanagara district on Sunday. “I trusted him but he deserted me. This led to consequences on party workers too. It is my responsibility to set the situation right.”
Referring to the 2019 parliamentary elections, he said: “If we had not followed the dharma of alliance, he (Bengaluru Rural MP D.K. Suresh) would not have been elected. They committed fraud on Nikhil in Mandya.” Urging the party men to work for the JD(S)-BJP alliance candidate, he said: “Let us support whoever becomes the alliance candidate. We should ensure our candidate wins with a margin of 3 lakh votes.”
The former Chief Minister predicted that the current Congress government would fall in 2024, and that there would be fresh Assembly elections. “It is doubtful whether that person (Mr. Shivakumar) will contest in the election,” he said.
