Siddaramaiah 'stalled by Govt' from laying foundation stone

Mysore, Sep 14 (UNI) In an unusual incident, police personnel today prevented former Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah from laying the foundation stone for a project in Udbur village, near here, allegedly under instructions from the JD(S)-BJP Government.

Tension prevailed in the village when Mr Siddaramaiah, who quit the JD(S) to join the Congress recently, arrived along with Zilla Panchayat officials to lay the foundation stone for a community hall at Udbur gate, about 15 km from here, at the cost of Rs two lakhs.

On seeing the heavy posse of police, Mr Siddaramaiah wanted to know the reason for it. Additional Superintendent of Police Puttaswamy replied that they were there on the instructions of the Government as they were told that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was scheduled to lay the foundation stone. The police personnel did not allow Mr Siddaramaiah to perform the ceremony.

Later, Mr Siddaramaiah addressed the gathering in the village, strongly criticising the Government for not allowing him to perform a sacred ceremony.

Zilla Panchayat Vice-President K Marigowda, Taluk Panchayat President Venkataramiah and others alleged that the Government was playing petty politics to curb the growing influence of the leader.

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