Kumaraswamy, who was in the district to attend the ‘Grama Vastavya’ (village stay) program, shouted at the workers who had approached him. (File)“You vote for Narendra Modi but want me to get your work done.” This is what Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday as he lost his cool when employees of Raichur’s Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) blocked his convoy to submit a list of grievances.
Kumaraswamy, who was in the district to attend the ‘Grama Vastavya’ (village stay) program, shouted at the workers who had approached him.
“You voted for Narendra Modi and want me to get your works done! You want me to give you respect. Should I baton-charge you? Leave the place,” PTI quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.
However, Kumaraswamy later told a TV channel that he had sought 15 days time to address the grievances of the workers but despite his assurance, they blocked the road, which made him angry.
The JD(S) leader questioned if anyone would accept had a similar incident happened with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s convoy. “This government is tolerant, but it is not incapable and knows how to deal with situations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP condemned the chief minister’s outburst and threatened a state-wide agitation if he did not apologise to those workers.
“This is against democracy. The chief minister should immediately seek an apology from the people. He should call them and hear them. If this continues, the BJP will agitate against him across the state,” BJP MLC and spokesperson N Ravi Kumar said.
Kumar added that the chief minister seemed to have forgotten that he was the leader of 6.5 crore people of the state and not only of some JD(S) workers and legislators. Kumar said the ‘Grama Vastavya’ program was made to address the grievances of the farmers, workers, and the people at large.
This is the second stay of Kumaraswamy under the ‘Grama Vastavya’ program. The first was in Chandaraki village in Yadgiri district.
(With PTI inputs)
