Congress- The New Indian Express
BENGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Ramalinga Reddy has alleged that the BJP’s propaganda against former chief minister Siddaramaiah over his purported remarks on Schedules Castes is an attempt by the saffron party to divert public attention from the multi-crore Bitcoin scam. Siddaramaiah had reportedly stated that many SCs were joining the BJP “for a livelihood”.
“The accused in the Bitcoin scam have a nexus with influential political leaders, including the son of a politician,” Reddy told the media on Saturday. “The government should reveal when it handed over the case to the CBI. Only a transparent investigation will bring out the truth,” he added.
Former minister R B Thimmapur too came out in support of Siddaramaiah. “I too was at the SC community meeting held in the run-up to the Sindagi bypolls. Siddaramaiah had just said that the SCs were in a party like the BJP which is against social justice,” Thimmapur added.
He questioned the silence maintained by minister Govind Karjol and Union Minister of State A Narayanaswamy when the BJP government in the state reduced grants for SCs. He warned that the Congress will launch a protest larger than the agitations of the BJP’s SC Morcha, if the saffron party continues to attack Siddaramaiah.
“When the BJP was in power between 2008 and 2013, it released Rs 22,261 crore for various welfare schemes aimed at SCs. However, the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah, between 2013 and 2018, released Rs 88,395 crore,” Reddy said.
Reddy also denied that Siddaramaiah had in the past snubbed Dalit leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge, KH Muniyappa and Dr G Parameshwara. “We have had many SC leaders as KPCC presidents. We won 80 seats in 2008 under the leadership of Kharge. Had we achieved a majority, he would have become the Chief Minister,” he added.
