Siddaramaiah distances himself from Shivakumar's remark on inclusion of Kanakapura taluk to B'luru Urban dist

Mysuru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday distanced himself from Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar's statement on inclusion of his native Kanakapura taluk to Bengaluru Urban District.

Talking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said, "it is best if media seeks clarification from Shivakumar about the issue.

"I do not know, I will discuss it with him. Since he has not discussed the matter, I don't know what's on his mind. How can I comment over the issue," he stated after the media insisted on the question.

On JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy Nero remark against him, Siddaramaiah said, "Kumaraswamy was sitting in the US when the Congress-JD(S) government was collapsing. Throughout one year and two months, he spent time at the Taj West End. At the time of answering a no confidence motion, Kumaraswamy had stated that the BJP is responsible for the fall of his government and now he is blaming him."

Siddaramaiah said, "People who are desperate indulge in loose talks. BJP is distraught and Kumaraswamy has become desperate. The position of BJP and JD(S) is that of a blind and crippled in the state. They have become interdependent."

On cabinet expansion, the chief minister said the decision will be taken by the Congress high command.

On BJP's allegation that Karnataka has become an ATM for the Congress high command, he said, "what is an ATM? Do they have any respect and honor? After conducting Operation Lotus and spending Rs 20 and Rs 25 crore in the elections, they make these allegations. From where did they get that money? They should reveal it now," he demanded.

"They (BJP) had pushed Karnataka to the state of bankruptcy? They did not plan to produce a single megawatt of power. What moral right do they have?

"If at all there is a power crisis in the drought period, they are responsible. In five years they did not produce a single megawatt of power. We increased the capacity of power production by 16,000 megawatts. Solar power energy production was facilitated by us."

"They (BJP) were in power for three years and 10 months. They took out loans and pushed the economy to bankruptcy. Even without funds, they allotted work and did not clear the bills. About Rs 30,000 crore pending bills are there. Who is responsible for this?" Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

"I can present the whitepaper on the financial status of our government and BJP's rule. I will present it in the assembly. They ruined the state and have been rejected by the people. These BJP leaders are making politically motivated allegations which have no basis. There is no truth in it," he said.

"Power crisis, production of power can’t be made as there is drought. Power from other states will be purchased. We have issued an order to the private companies that the electricity produced here must be given to Karnataka," he said.

Recently, Kumaraswamy said, "Siddaramaiah government is creating artificial scarcity of power, just to purchase it from private entities and get commission."