BIJAPUR: Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash has said that AHINDA is being misused to criticise the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and to glorify the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, he noted that AHINDA was started in the Nineties to make it the voice of weaker sections of society. But it has been reduced to a forum to settle political scores, he lamented.

Referring to Mr. Siddaramaiah's comment that there is no democracy in Janata Dal (Secular) as it has become the "fiefdom" of Mr. Deve Gowda and his family members, he sought to know why the former Deputy Chief Minister took so many years to realise it.

On reports that Mr. Siddaramaiah's group is likely to join hands with the Janata Dal (United), Mr. Prakash said it is against Mr. Siddaramaiah's proclaimed stand supporting secularism.

Unethical

It will be unethical on the part of Mr. Siddaramaiah if he chooses to go with the Janata Dal (U), which cohabits with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance.

Later, participating in the party meeting, Mr. Prakash called upon workers to face the panchayat elections together.

Industries Minister P.G.R. Sindhia lambasted Mr. Siddaramaiah for ignoring the welfare of Dalits, backward classes and the minorities when in power.

Mr. Sindhia noted that Mr. Siddaramaiah has presented the State budget seven times. "But he has done nothing to uplift the oppressed."

He also accused the Congress of engineering the split between Mr. Deve Gowda and Mr. Siddaramaiah.

Janata Dal (S) district unit President Mallikarjun Yandigeri said senior leaders of other parties are scheduled to join the party in a meeting to be held at Chadchan on November 30 in which Mr. Deve Gowda is scheduled to take part.

Animal Husbandry and Wakf Minister Mirajuddin Patel; Vimalabayi Deshmukh and M.C. Manguli, former Ministers; R.K. Rathod, MLA; S.D. Karpoorimath and N.S. Khed, former legislators; and others were present.

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