Centre’s intent is to finish off small parties: DK Shivakumar

Vijayapura: “The central government has the intention to end small parties through One Nation, One Election. The strength of the India Alliance has increased due to regional parties including TMC, DMK, SP, Communists. Therefore, the BJP is trying to end these par-ties,” said DCM DK Shivakumar.

DCM Shivakumar responded to media queries in Vijayapura on Friday morning. When asked about the approval of One Nation, One Election in the Union Cabinet, he said, “The Congress Party has already expressed its opposition to One Nation, One Election. The Central NDA government does not have the right number of votes to get this approved in Parliament. It needs two-thirds majority, and I do not know how it will be achieved.

“ In some states, elections have just been held, and in some places, elections have been held for two or three years. I do not know how these are done. This is a difficult process. They are doing it with their own agenda. The Congress party president and Rahul Gandhi have stated the party’s stand on this issue, and we will defend it,” he said.

When asked about the increase in the height of the Almatti dam, he said, “We are committed to raising the height of the Almatti reservoir to 524 feet. A notification needs to be issued for this. There is a debate on whether to carry out the work before issuing the notification. There is some discrimination in the matter of land acquisition.

“ Some people have taken an order from the court to get compensation higher than the price in Bangalore. How is this possible? This deficiency should be corrected. We have no problem with the price fixed by Bommai’s government for the farmers. The Chief Minister has called a meeting of people’s representatives on Monday,” he said.

When asked about the many demands made by the protesters, he said, “Let them put forward a hundred demands.

We will take action keeping in mind the situation to im-plement them within the legal framework. “The central government should issue a gazette notification regarding raising the height of the Almatti dam to 524 feet. We will make the necessary preparations by the time it is done. The central government needs to provide a grant of Rs 6,000 crore,” he said.