Bengaluru: Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday rejected opposition allegations that he and his family had “washed their hands off” Ramanagara, his home turf, saying the claims were baseless, even as he said any decision on his return to state politics would be made “at the right time.”
Kumaraswamy made the remarks after participating in the dedication ceremony of the renovated Sri Nagamale Mahadeshwara Swamy temple at Hoonasanahalli village in Ramanagara taluk, on a two-day visit to the district during which he also called on party workers at their homes.
“There is no shortage of elected representatives to lead Ramanagara. The party and the organisation will decide, and whenever there is a need, I will give special time to the district,” he said, addressing reports that he was stepping back from state politics. “I have set aside time for four constituencies across the state, not just Ramanagara, whenever national politics permits. Workers should not take unnecessary decisions out of worry — they must decide calmly and at the right time what is beneficial for the party.”
Describing Ramanagara’s workers as “family” who had “raised” him as a leader, Kumaraswamy said some among them had expressed disappointment, believing he had neglected the district, but asserted this was far from the truth. He pointed to his health struggles over the past decade, saying that despite them, he had toured his constituency 60 to 70 times for public programmes and had continued to travel extensively across Ramanagara district.
Hitting back at political rivals who he said were claiming that people of Ramanagara had turned away from him, Kumaraswamy said the district’s residents and workers had stood firmly by him since he entered state politics in 2004, and that such allegations carried no weight with the public.
He also responded sharply to Congress leaders who had accused him of delaying the temple’s inauguration for political reasons, calling the charge baseless, and hit out at critics who have cited land acquired for Rajiv Gandhi University in the district as evidence against his government, accusing some of hypocrisy given their own past travels abroad funded by the same development process.
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