Dissolve Assembly, seek fresh mandate, Shivakumar tells BJP

Bengaluru: KPCC president DK Shivakumar has challenged the BJP to dissolve the Assembly and seek fresh mandate from the people, instead of replacing Chief Minister Yediyurappa. "People of the State are struggling to save their lives due to floods and Covid and the government has failed to save them," the Congress leader said.

"Dissolve the Assembly and face the elections. Let us see who will form a new government as per the people's mandate," he said.

He said the Sate was continuously hit by floods for the past three years. "From our party under the leadership of R.V.Deshpande and Satish Jarakiholi, teams have gone and inspected the floods. Belagavi district has more than ten MLAs from your own party, even then you couldn't visit the flood-hit areas last year, why? You haven't built houses there. You haven't compensated the flood victims from even the previous year. Why? If you can't do these, why should you be in power?" Shivakumar questioned.

"When West Bengal and other States were hit by floods, Prime minister Narendra Modi himself visited the affected places. But why he has failed to extend the same gesture to Karnataka?" asked the KPCC chief.

"Why wasn't proper compensation given to Karnataka? Why is the Center discriminating against the State? Why aren't the BJP MPs putting pressure on the Center?"

The day Yediyurappa took over, he himself mentioned that a big political instability was prevailing. "This is his administration and this is his gift to the people."

During Covid, Congress workers, Shivakumar said, stood by migrant laborers, farmers. "We purchased the crops from the farmers in this period," he said.

"Many migrants died. The government fixed thrice the price for the migrants to travel back to their places. We went to their help and gave free transport facility to them," he claimed.

"We've asked our team to do a death audit and the work is going on in full swing at every block level. Did any minister or MLA from the government undertake such a task? They visited the victims 20 days after we visited. Such is the situation. The CM himself gives information to the central ministry that no death has happened due to oxygen shortage, then why did they give Rs 2 lakh compensation for the 24 dead people in Chamarajanagar? 36 people have died due to oxygen shortage, the committee appointed by the high court itself has reported the figure," he said.