Even as the Mysuru chalo padayatra by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies – BJP and JD(S) – is winding its way through Ramanagaram and Mandya districts, the Congress party is gearing up to hold a mammoth rally in Mysuru on August 9 to counter the “false” allegations against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The Mysuru convention scheduled for August 9, a day before the allies’ padayatra reaches the City, is expected to bring thousands of supporters from different parts of the region including Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Kodagu, besides Mysuru district.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who had convened a breakfast meeting of MLAs, former MLAs, and other party leaders at his residence in Mysuru on Saturday, had appealed to the partymen to ensure that the rally in Mysuru was successful. The Mysuru rally is the finale of the series of conventions planned by the Congress party in Ramanagaram, Mandya, and Mysuru district to counter the padayatra by BJP and JD(S).
Mysuru City Congress Committee president R. Murthy has convened a meeting of party leaders for a preliminary meeting on August 5 to discuss the arrangements for the August 9 rally. Similar meetings of the party’s other district units will also be held in the run-up to the rally.
Even as the padayatra by BJP-JD(S) was on its way towards Mysuru, the Congress party has planned a series of parallel conventions to highlight the alleged injustice to Karnataka by the NDA Government at the Centre and corruption that had taken place during the tenure of BJP and JD(S) governments in the State.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was considering the party conventions in the regard seriously and expects the compulsory participation of leaders of the party at all levels.
KPCC spokesperson M. Lakshmana said the rally in Mysuru will not only serve to highlight the alleged conspiracy hatched by BJP and JD(S) against Mr. Siddaramaiah, but will give the party a platform to expose the alleged corruption that had taken place in the State during the regime of BJP and JD(S).
Though Mr. Siddaramaiah’s wife had been legally allotted sites by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in lieu of her land that was acquired by the Authority to develop Devanur third stage layout, the Opposition BJP and JD(S) were unnecessarily targeting the Chief Minister for “political reasons”,” he said.
To a question, Mr. Lakshmana, however, said the Congress did not think that irregularities had not taken place in the MUDA. Gross irregularities had taken place during the tenure of the BJP, he said, and added that the one-man judicial commission headed by retired Judge of Karnataka High Court P.N. Desai will go into the instances of allotment of sites by MUDA since 2006 and unearth the irregularities.
Published - August 04, 2024 07:57 pm IST
