Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge who was inducted into the Siddaramaiah Cabinet after winning the Assembly elections in 2013 for the first-time is really a ‘special baby’ for the Karnataka State, Kalaburagi MP Umesh Jadhav has said.
Addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Dr. Jadhav said that Mr. Kharge got a plum portfolio after becoming a legislator for the first time. He becomes IT&BT and Tourism Minister in 2016, again in Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2018 Mr. Kharge got Social Welfare portfolio and now [in 2023] he bagged the key RDPR and also the IT&BT portfolios effortlessly, so I consider him [Priyank Kharge] as ‘special baby’ of Karnataka, he criticised.
Ignoring the Chief Minister’s instruction for organising the ‘Janaspandana’ programme at the district headquarters, Mr. Kharge conducted the Janaspandana at Chincholi taluk last month. Mr. Kharge, compares himself to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and takes decisions as per his convenience. So obviously I call him a ‘special baby’, Dr. Jadhav ridiculed.
“Mr. Priyank Kharge frequently criticizes me stating that I am MP for Chincholi taluk. Yes, I belong to Chincholi and I represent Kalaburagi Lok Sabha Constituency. Though AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge won Assembly elections from Gurmitkal Assembly Constituency eight times and Mr. Priyank Kharge won from Chittapur Assembly Constituency three consecutive periods, they have opened a CBSE school at Yelahanka and established a Medical College in Bengaluru, Should I call him [Priyank Kharge] Minister of Dollars Colony,” Dr. Jadhav questioned.
Referring to the series of incidents reported in the district recently, Dr. Jadhav alleged that the law and order situation in Kalaburagi district is getting worse, the Congress leaders and their associates are trying to suppress the voice of people who spoke against them. The police have failed to take action against the culprits involved in the murder of BJP worker Devanand Koraba; the accused who assaulted a city corporation employee last month are still roaming scot-free; a BJP worker in Sedam taluk died by suicide recently blaming alleged harassment by Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil; but the district police have turned blind eye to all the incidents, Dr. Jadhav accused.
The arrogance of power has gone to Mr. Kharge’s head. Instead of conducting the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting regularly, he asked to sue him for not conducting the KDP meetings, this shows his autocratic behavior, Dr. Jadhav said.
Dr. Jadhav urged him to conduct KDP meetings regularly and review the status of development works of each department. “As per Mr. Kharge, he has conducted more than 40 meetings with the officials of various departments, but the people as well as the legislators [from Congress party] are unaware about the meetings and the subjects discussed in the meetings,” he added.
He also criticised AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge for postponing the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting.
