At first rally for bypoll, Siddaramaiah alleges ‘injustice’ against state
In response to CM’s accusations, Bommai said that bypoll results would be a setback for the Congress due to its ‘double standards’ on issues related to farmers
Chief minister Siddaramaiah kicked off his campaign on Monday for the upcoming by-elections with a rally in Haveri, where he focused on what he called the “injustice” in the distribution of funds from the central government to the state.
During the rally, Siddaramaiah criticised the central financial allocation, emphasising that Karnataka contributes significantly more in taxes than it receives, and questioned the silence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on this issue.
“Injustice is happening for Karnataka. Did Prahlad Joshi raise voice against this? Did Bommai raise the voice? Did Shettar speak about the injustice to Karnataka? How can it be treated as politics if we say injustice has been done to Karnataka? Getting back ₹60,000 crore after giving ₹4.5 lakh crore, is that not injustice?” Siddaramaiah asked, challenging prominent BJP figures in Karnataka for their silence.
He further said that he had raised this matter during the recent visit of the 16th Finance Commission to Bengaluru, where he had mentioned about Karnataka faced severe disparities under the 15th Finance Commission. “The 16th finance commission was formed, and they came to Bengaluru. We explained how much injustice happened to our Karnataka in the 15th finance commission,” he said.
Addressing the Waqf land controversy, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of playing politics with the issue. “They are doing politics in the Waqf issue even after we withdrew notices. No farmers will be vacated. As soon as we came to know about such notices, we withdrew them. But why have they (BJP) given notices in 216 cases? I am ready to give information on notices on the cases during the tenure of BS Yeddyurappa,” he said while pointing out that the BJP had taken similar steps during its tenure.
He also defended his administration’s developmental policies, asserting that they have prioritized guarantees and fulfilled promises. “Earlier, when I was CM, I assured 165 programmes in the manifesto. Out of them, 158 were fulfilled. Are they not development? Out of ₹3 lakh 71 crore, ₹52,000 crore is being used for guarantees. Approximately 60 thousand crores are being utilised for development under irrigation, PWD, and others. All these things are not development?” he argued.
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai, responding from Hubballi, argued that the upcoming by-elections would be a setback for the Congress due to its “double standards” on farmer-related issues.
Criticising the Siddaramaiah government’s handling of the Waqf property issue, he remarked, “Chief minister Siddaramaiah, after realising mistakes, has withdrawn these notices. If the government did nothing wrong, why would they withdraw the notices given to farmers?”
Bommai also described the administration as one of “U-turns,” accusing it of a pattern of retractions. “They acquire sites and then return them, they loot the funds of the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Corporation and later claim to return them. In the matter of Waqf, they issued notices to farmers, and when faced with stiff resistance, they retracted the order,” he pointed out.
The by-elections are scheduled for Channapatna, Sandur, and Shiggaon constituencies, with Bommai’s son, Bharath Bommai, standing as the BJP candidate for the Shiggaon seat.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar also addressed the election campaign, expressing confidence in a performance-driven outcome. Speaking before heading to Channapatna for campaigning, Shivakumar said, “All those who played political game of chess are doomed. People will vote in this election based purely on the performance of the candidates.” He added, “In democracy, what matters is the work done by the leaders. People decide the winner on the basis of their work and not by anything else.”
In Channapatna, where JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, is in the race against Congress candidate CP Yogeshwar, Shivakumar highlighted the support from leaders including R Ashoka and CT Ravi. Shivakumar also noted, “JD(S) did not support BJP’s Mysuru Chalo padayatra. The BJP has to support the JD(S) at least.”
During his campaign, Nikhil Kumaraswamy voiced disappointment over past election outcomes, attributing the losses to alleged Congress conspiracies. At a recent rally, he said, “The setbacks we faced were not due to a lack of support from the people, but because of Congress’s hidden conspiracies against us.”