BJP leader and former Ballari City MLA G. Somashekhar Reddy has hit back at his brother and Gangavati MLA G. Janardhan Reddy terming him a real coward who used the BJP for meeting his personal ends.
“We [the BJP leaders] are not cowards. He [Mr. Janardhan Reddy] used us and the party for making money through illegal means and he is the real coward. The entire world knows this fact,” Mr. Somashekhar Reddy said at a press conference in Ballari on Thursday.
It was his first appearance before the media after he lost to Congress candidate Na. Ra. Bharath Reddy in the Assembly elections.
His words came in response to questions from journalists who reminded him of Mr. Janardhan Reddy reportedly saying that he was now in the Legislative Assembly [after winning the Assembly elections], while the cowards whom he had raised are sitting in their houses [after losing the elections].
“Right from his childhood, Mr. Janardhan Reddy has nurtured the nature of being superior to others. He wanted all people around him to be subordinate to him and obey his orders. He has a bad tendency of suppressing the people who don’t obey him. The entire world knows how he made money through illegal means using the party,” Mr. Somashekhar Reddy said.
Speaking on his defeat in Ballari, Mr. Somashekhar Reddy said that he would have won by around seven thousand votes if there was no candidate from Janardhan Reddy’s new party, KRPP [Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha], in the fray.
“If you put together the votes polled by the BJP and KRPP, it would be more than what the Congress candidate secured to win the elections. If there had been no KRPP candidate in the fray, I would have won by a margin of around 7,000 votes. My family members themselves defeated me. In the previous elections, Mr. Janardhan Reddy brought Congress leaders to ensure G. Karunakar Reddy’s victory. In this election, he brought some leaders from the Congress and the BJP and made them work for his KRPP,” he said.
To a question, Mr. Somashekhar Reddy said that he will not idly sit at home but work for the party. “I am not going to sit at home. I will work for party building. I have made it clear that, after my death, my body will be wrapped in the BJP flag and cremated,” he said.
‘Congress reluctant to keep its promises’
BJP leader and Lok Sabha member from Ballari Y. Devendrappa said that the Congress could defeat the BJP in the Assembly elections just because of its five guarantees.
“The BJP had to lose the elections not because of disunity among its leaders but because of Congress guarantees. The BJP’s poll campaign lost vigour before the Congress’ aggressive campaign on its guarantees. After winning the elections on guarantees, the Congress government is reluctant to fulfil its promises. If the guarantees are not implemented immediately, we will initiate our fight against the government,” Mr. Devendrappa said.
