The Hindu : Karnataka News : Leaders take potshots at Dharam Singh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 06, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Leaders take potshots at Dharam Singh

By Our Staff Reporter

The BJP leaders (from left), Maneka Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, H.N. Ananth Kumar, B.S. Yediyurappa, and Arun Jaitley, before courting arrest against the prosecution of the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, in the Idgah Maidan flag hoist ing case, in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE, SEPT. 5. The Shimoga MP and former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa, today exhorted the Bharatiya Janata Party workers to strengthen the party in the State and capture power in the next elections.

He said the seeds for the party's campaign had already been sown with the agitation against the arrest of the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, for attempting to hoist the national flag at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli.

Addressing party workers from Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Bellary districts, and those from Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Orissa, and sants from Uttar Pradesh on the fifth day of the Rashtriya Swabhiman Satyagraha demanding the unconditional release of Ms. Bharti, Mr. Bangarappa criticised the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, for the arrest of Ms. Bharti.

`Protest will go on'

He said Mr. Dharam Singh had not learnt lessons from history. Criticising the filing of a case against Ms. Bharti for attempting to hoist the tricolour, he said that the struggle would go on till she was released.

On the remarks made by the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayat Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Veer Savarkar, Mr. Bangarappa said it was a national duty to hail him as a hero.

Boost to BJP

The former Chief Minister said the agitation had given a boost to the party, which should be built with the support of farmers, minorities, Scheduled Castes, Brahmins, Lingayats, and backward classes.

The party, he declared, would "capture" Vidhana Soudha in the next elections, amidst clapping by the workers.

Suppression of rights

The former Union Minister, Arif Mohammed Khan, said the BJP was not agitating merely to get the release of Ms. Bharti, but was also protesting against the behaviour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's suppression of the rights of the Opposition, and the BJP would not take it lying down.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, B.S. Yediyurappa, said that action should be taken against Mr. Dharam Singh and his predecessor, S.M. Krishna, for the stamp paper scam, on the Veerappan issue, and the land scandal, and not against Ms. Bharti.

Deve Gowda criticised

He criticised the Janata Dal (Secular) President and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, for not pressing his demand on sending some Congress leaders to jail and for joining hands with that party to form a coalition Government.

Mr. Yediyurappa took a dig at the Dharam Singh Government for its failure to distribute books to children in primary schools and the delay in expansion of the Ministry.

The large gathering of party workers, most of whom were from north Indian States, applauded frequently during the course of the speeches by Mr. Bangarappa and Mr. Yediyurappa.

The President of the State unit of the BJP, H.N. Ananth Kumar, alleged that the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and Mr. Dharam Singh, were puppets in the hands of Delhi leaders.

National honour

The former Union Minister, Maneka Gandhi, said it was the first time in her political career that she was courting arrest and pointed out that the decision was prompted by the feeling to uphold the honour and dignity of the country.

Those sitting in Delhi, she said, did not show any concern for the happenings Karnataka, and Mr. Dharam Singh should realise.

The former Union Ministers, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, also courted arrest.

The BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Vinay Katiyar, attacked the "politics of vengeance" allegedly indulged in by the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, and the UPA.

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