BENGALURU:
Senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad’s statements along with indirect criticism of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have created an uneasy situation within the ruling party in Karnataka. He was addressing a meeting of Ediga, Bilwa, Namdhari and Diwara communities on Friday.
Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) Hariprasad is said to be upset over not being included in the Karnataka cabinet. The Chief Minister did not comment on Hariprasad’s statements, but some of his cabinet colleagues avoided commenting on the matter.
Hariprasad said, the community should be aware. May I become a minister or not, that is a different question. I have already played a role in making five Chief Ministers in this country, be it Puducherry or Goa. In Jharkhand, I have done it alone. In Haryana and Punjab, I have done this with the AICC team. Addressing the gathering, he took credit for making backward class leader Bhupesh Baghel the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
A senior Congress leader said, So I know very well how to make someone Chief Minister or remove someone from the post… I will not bow down, nor will I extend my hand. Politics is no child’s play for 49 years in Bengaluru.
During the cabinet formation in May, there were reports that Hariprasad had dropped out of the ministerial race after the Chief Minister strongly opposed his inclusion. Hariprasad Adiga, who was the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also hail from the Kuruba community. Both of them belong to Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Hariprasad claimed that he had asked Siddaramaiah to provide five crore rupees for the Koti Chennaya theme park at Karkala in Udupi district, to which he (Siddaramaiah) had responded positively, but nothing was forthcoming. Hariprasad said that he had given Rs 50 lakh under the MPLAD scheme with the intention of setting up a ‘gurupeeth’ in Mangaluru University, but the building is still under construction and financial assistance was also promised, but not even a single penny was received.
