Unbecoming of PM to shift Mahadayi responsibility: CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Mahadayi water sharing row, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the PM, instead of resolving the issue, was shifting responsibilities. Reacting to Modi’s promise to resolve the issue once his party comes to power in Karnataka during a rally in Gadag on Saturday, Siddaramaiah questioned what the Modi government had done in the last four years over the water dispute. 

“He blames Sonia Gandhi but she was never the Prime Minister, he is. I had gone with an all-party delegation to New Delhi but he asked me to talk to Goa Congress. It is his responsibility to intervene but he only shifts responsibilities,” Siddaramaiah said. The Chief Minister’s one-hour interaction with media personnel was packed with attacks on Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi. While Siddaramaiah claimed that the battle was between him and B S Yeddyurappa, all his attacks were directed at Modi-Shah duo. Pulling up the BJP leaders, including PM Modi for the language the party has been using in election rallies, Siddaramaiah said it was unbecoming of PM to make personal attacks and lie to the people.

“Amit Shah calls me ‘A’ Hindu to mock that I am not a Hindu. I am more Hindu than them because I believe in pluralism and secularism,” Siddaramaiah said. He mocked the state’s BJP’s heavy dependence on Modi to win seats. Highlighting his government’s achievements, welfare programmes and implementation, Siddaramaiah said, these will be the focus point of Congress’ campaigning unlike the BJP’s Hindutva agenda. “I will win both- Chamundeshwari and Badami seats and my son will win Varuna,” Siddaramaiah said in response to Modi’s 2+1 dynasty politics jibe.

Siddaramaiah urged that the assembly election was not a three-cornered battle since JD(S) was prominent only in select regions. “Modi speaks of Sab Ka Saath, Sab ka Vikaas, but his party hasn’t given a single seat to Muslims. It speaks volumes about the misleading ways of the BJP,” Siddaramaiah said.

BJP will solve Mahadayi issue in 6 months: Shah 
Belagavi: Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance on Mahadayi dispute, BJP national president Amit Shah on Sunday assured that the dispute will also be solved within six months if the BJP is voted to power in the state. He was speaking at a rally in Saudatti Yellamma during his campaign in Belagavi district. Shah attacked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his inability to address such a serious issue in the state. Siddaramaiah has failed in handling the Kalasa-Banduri dispute and is now passing the buck to Modi and BJP leaders, he said. Due to his arrogant attitude Siddaramaiah has failed to convince the state chief ministers concerned in connection with the Kalasa Banduri project.