Vishwanath accuses CM of playing ‘caste card’ to save his chair

MLC AH Vishwanath addresses a press meet in Mysuru on Wednesday. | Photo credit: MA Sriram

AH Vishwanath, MLC, said here on Wednesday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was playing “caste card” to save his seat and clear the air in the eyes of the public.

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s comments in Mysuru on Tuesday that the BJP and JD(S) leaders were fomenting false grievances to remove him as they were unable to digest a representative of backward classes who became the second Mr Vishwanath said such a mindset was unbecoming of a true leader.

He said it was a futile attempt to play caste politics and create an impression that the “upper castes” were against an OBC becoming chief minister. “But did Mr Siddaramaiah win the elections only because of OBC votes? Didn’t Lingayats and Vokkaligas vote for him or help him become chief minister? A true leader should rise above such divisions,” Mr. Vishwanath said.

He said that due to Mr. Siddarmaiah’s style of functioning and attitude, the Congress is bound to suffer as no OBC or Kuruba has benefited from him or emerged as a leader. “Siddaramaiah is like Louis XV. of France, to which the expression is attributed – according to me, the Deluge,” said Mr. Vishwanath.

Mr Vishwanath took photos of Mr Siddaramaiah’s Mysuru visit, during which he laid the foundation stone of various projects in Varuna costing about ₹501 crore, and said it was a futile attempt to protest his innocence.

“The essence of his speech was to claim that he had no black mark in his political career but the people of Mysuru were wise and would not be deceived and this black mark could not be erased,” said Mr. Vishwanath, the had criticized Mr. Vishwanath in the past. Siddaramaiah’s handling of the MUDA case relating to the allotment of 14 plots of land to his wife.

“No matter what Mr Siddaramaiah claims, people have come to a conclusion and see through how they were duped,” Mr Vishwanath said.

The state was known for its administrative strength, development and progressive policies, but today it is notorious for corruption in all sectors and Mr Siddaramaiah must take the blame for it, he added.

He said Karnataka’s finances are in disarray and the economy is in crisis due to implementation of guarantee schemes. The government has not even released the old age pension in the last few months despite widespread corruption, Mr Vishwanath said. “There is an administrative breakdown in the state and Mr Siddaramaiah was the chairman,” he added.