Kumaraswamy's village stay a political gimmick: KPCC

Mysore, Nov 24 (UNI) Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Mallikarjuna Kharge today termed Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's village stay as a ''political gimmick'' and said he should instead take up developmental works as such acts would not yield any result.

Participating in a meet-the-press programme here, organised by the Mysore Reporters Guild, he asked that when the Chief Minister and his father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had claimed that they were farmers and were aware of the problems of ryots right from their birth, where was the need for village stay to ascertain villagers' problems.

Mr Kharge ridiculed that even after being in power for ten months the JD(S)-BJP coalition Government was unable to call a single meeting on irrigation and all projects started by the previous Governments had come to a standstill. He dismissed the charge that the Congress had failed to act as an effective Opposition party.

On the Election Commission changing the Returning Officer for the Chamundeswari Assembly bypoll yesterday, he said it was the decision of the EC. The Congress had lodged a complaint against misuse of official machinery in the constituency. He exuded confidence that Congress candidate and former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would emerge victorious in the byelection.

To a question on some suspected JD(S) workers preventing JD(U) candidate A S Gurusamy from taking up election campaign in some villages, he said that in a democratic set up, every one had the right to seek votes.

In a separate press conference here, former Minister and senior Congress leader R V Deshapande asked Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to applogise in public against the remarks made on the seer of the Udupi Pejavar mutt. Being a senior politician, one should not stoop to such low level and try to divide the people on caste lines, he chided.

He criticised that the JD(S) had become ''communal'' by allying with the BJP not only in the Government, but also in the bypoll and said the electorate would teach the party a fitting lesson.

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