HDK did nothing for Channapatna when he was CM: DKS

Bengaluru: Lashing out at Kumaraswamy for not doing anything for Channapatna when he was the chief minister, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday questioned his ability and intention to do anything for the constituency now.

“When Kumaraswamy was the CM, he did not do anything for the constituency that he represented, what can he do now when he is not even the MLA of the constituency. The people of the constituency know it well,” he said while speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha.

Asked about Channapatna by-election, he said, “We are not doing work in Channapatna for the elections. District in charge minister Ramalinga Reddy and I have been working in the constituency ever since the previous MLA resigned.”

“The people of the constituency expressed their disenchantment with the previous MLA saying there were no development works. In view of this, we spoke to the CM and got a grant of Rs 500 crore. We are doing a lot of works including distributing 5000 houses. We are also making thousands of sites for the people. We are focussed on the people’s welfare,” he added.

“Kumaraswamy contested in Channapatna twice, his wife contested once and now as expected his son is contesting. We knew that they won’t give ticket to a party worker. The people of Channapatna are with us and we are confident of winning,” he said.

Asked about Yaduveer campaigning in Channapatna, he said, “They can bring anyone they want for the campaign. But the JDS party workers, party leaders, the people are all with us.”

Asked if the Vokkaligas of the constituency will stand with the party, he said, “We don’t do caste politics, but we do politics on principles. There are many communities in the constituency and we will work for all of them.”

Asked about Wakf Board controversy, he said, “BJP is politicising this. There were notices given from Wakf even during the BJP rule. We have instructed the Revenue department to correct the mistakes. We are for the farmers and we will protect their rights. The CM and the minister concerned has already issued clarification regarding this.”

Asked about allegations that Jayanagar had not been given grants, he said, What has been released now is the additional grants from the DCM. We have given Rs 10 per constituency to fix the roads. Jayanagar is a small constituency and there is no damage to roads.”

Asked why the people of the constituency are being targeted for political vendetta with the MLA, he said, “We are not doing any injustice to the people of the constituency. We have given a grant of Rs 40 crore under a different scheme.”

Asked about Forest Minister ordering action against those who felled trees for a film shoot in HMT forest area, he said, “I don’t know about it and I don’t want to interfere in the functioning of another department.” Asked about interim bail to actor Darshan, he said, “I don’t question the decision of the courts. The government welcomes the decision of the court.”