Last Updated: February 15, 2023, 09:04 IST
Dinesh Gundu Rao (in pic), who represents the Gandhinagar constituency in Bengaluru, also lamented that CM Basavaraj Bommai has not held a meeting with any of the city MLAs and has been taking ‘ad hoc’ decisions. (Twitter @dineshgrao)
The Congress leader said the BJP was raising non-issues like Halal, Hijab and the Tipu versus Savarkar debate as they had failed to provide development and good governance in poll-bound Karnataka
In a freewheeling interview on the party’s plans in the upcoming Karnataka elections and how he sees the political rhetoric in the state, Gundu Rao felt that despite having BJP in power in both the Centre and state, Karnataka is getting ‘step-motherly treatment’.
“I wonder where the double-engine sarkar is….Brand Bengaluru and Karnataka have been affected. Though our finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an MP from Karnataka, she cancelled the special funds allocated by the finance commission to the state keeping in mind how our taxes are devolved. She cancelled the Rs 5,000 crore that were allocated to the state last year and not a single MP of the 325 Lok Sabha MPs from the BJP spoke up? They are all scared,” Rao told News18.
Speaking about the crumbling infrastructure in Bengaluru, the Congress leader pointed out that the city has been falling apart in the last two-three years. He said there has been total neglect of Bengaluru by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who also holds the portfolio of managing the capital city.
“It is now as elections near that some work is being done like roads are being laid etc. But all this is with an eye on elections. The BJP has no vision to grow the city nor a development programme for the next 10 years,” Rao said.
Rao, who represents the Gandhinagar constituency in Bengaluru, also lamented that Bommai has not held a meeting with any of the city MLAs and has been taking ‘ad hoc’ decisions.
“Even when funds are allocated, there is a lot of disparity,” Rao said, claiming that BJP MLAs have been given five times more funds than their Congress counterparts. He also alleged that the peripheral ring road that Bengaluru needs to help with its traffic congestion, suburban rail connectivity, and building of flyovers, all remain only on paper.
Taking on the BJP on the issue surrounding the Halal and Tipu versus Savarkar campaigns, Rao felt that the ruling party was trying to make an issue where none exists.
On the Halal certification bill which may come up in the ongoing budget session of the Karnataka legislative assembly, the Congressman said it was not of great significance. In the monsoon session held last year, BJP MLC N Ravikumar sought to introduce a private members bill seeking a ban on Halal certification. He is seeking to move that food certification by any institution other than the Food Safety and Security Association of India (FSSAI) be banned.
“There has never been an issue regarding Hijab or Halal. The BJP is raking up such issues to divide and communalise,” said Rao.
He added: “They (BJP) are talking about Hijab, Halal, Tipu versus Veer Savarkar because they have failed in development and giving good governance. People know that this government isn’t functioning properly and all this is just diversionary tactics.”
Taking on senior BJP leaders like CT Ravi, Rao felt that their call for Hindutva and preserving culture seemed two-faced, “especially when have been speaking in an uncultured manner”.
When asked about former ally and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy’s ‘Brahmin’ comment, Rao said politicians should not attack a person by his caste. “Why is there a need to attach caste when attacking a person? You can attack him based on his performance or issues, not by naming his caste. A senior leader like Kumaraswamy must not speak like this,” he told News18.
On the question of whether the Congress will think of aligning with the JDS and Kumaraswamy if the assembly polls throw up a hung verdict, Rao said: “There will be no tie-up with the JDS in this election.”
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