Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday declined to reveal the reason for denial of ticket to former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and said that it had been conveyed to Mr. Shettar.
Addressing a press conference in Hubballi on Monday evening, Mr. Shah termed it an “internal decision” of the party which could not be disclosed before the media. It has already been conveyed to Mr. Shettar and he knows it and it will also be conveyed to the voters, he said.
On Santhosh
Terming the allegation by Mr. Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi that the State BJP was being controlled by few influential people like B.L. Santhosh as “frivolous”, he sought to know who was handling the party when Mr. Savadi was the Deputy Chief Minister.
On the allegation of Lingayats being ill treated by the BJP, he asserted that the party had replaced Lingayat candidates with another Lingayat candidate and it still enjoyed the support of the community.
Congress has no moral right
Mr. Shah said that the Congress had not given due respect to Lingayat leaders and it had no moral right to speak about the BJP on Lingayat leaders as it “disgraced and harassed” the two Lingayat Chief Ministers it had. “With the entry of two-three Lingayat leaders, the Congress is jumping with joy,” he said, adding that people know better and Mr. Shettar would be defeated this time as Hubballi had always been the forte of the BJP.
Mr. Shah claimed that the BJP government had resolved the long pending Mahadayi project while the Congress failed to execute it. When asked why the project was yet to start despite the BJP being in power in all the riparian States and at the Centre, he said that whatever he said was on record and declined to take any further question on the issue.
Mr. Shah on Monday also held rallies and roadshows in Hassan and Mysuru.
‘What is parivarvad?’
Is giving party ticket to family members of sitting MLAs or former MLAs, MPs not ‘parivarvad’? It is not, according to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
During his press conference, Mr. Shah spoke about the ‘parivarvad’ (dynasty politics) of JD(S) and when asked about BJP giving ticket to family members, Mr. Shah said that in parties like JD(S) even party president’s post, MLA, and MP’s position were given to family members, whereas in the BJP the party positions were held by different people based on qualification.
On whether giving ticket to a party leader’s son, daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-laws or any other relative would not amount to ‘parivarvad’, Mr. Shah said he would not like to further debate on the issue and had made his stand clear.
