MYSORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's village stay programme has come under criticism from his political detractors who have described it as "street acrobatics" of the worst form, and have accused him of making a mockery of the living condition of Dalits for political gains.

Mileage

While his supporters are taking stock of the political mileage and publicity accrued out of such action, Opposition parties have described it as an effort to neutralise the challenge posed by the entry of former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah into the Congress. Though Mr. Kumaraswamy has made it clear that he is not perturbed by criticisms and wants to get a first-hand experience of the problems faced by the people in rural areas, there are not many takers to this line of thinking.

By-election

With the impending by-election to the Assembly from the Chamundeshwari constituency, the stage is set for the battle of ballots and the Chief Minister's village stay programme, two within a week in the constituency, is being dubbed as an attempt to woo Dalits and other backward castes.

Meanwhile, Manjunath, MLC and president of the State unit of the SC/ST wing of the Congress, described Mr. Kumaraswamy's stay at Dadakalahalli as a political farce and accused him of making a mockery of the lifestyle and the living condition of Dalits. Taking objections to the manner in which the Chief Minister's official entourage fixed artificial toilet, Mr. Manjunath wondered how many Dalit families in rural areas had access to such a facility and called for an end to such "publicity gimmicks".

Motive

He wondered why the Chief Minister was so keen to pitch camps in villages in the Chamundeshwari constituency and questioned the motive behind such frequent visits to rural areas in Mysore district.

Responding to the Chief Minister's comment that "I was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi who lived in villages to apprise himself of the problems of villagers", Mr. Manjunath said Mr. Kumaraswamy was haunted by the stature of Mr. Siddaramaiah. Hence, he was visiting the constituency frequently.

Meanwhile, speaking at a seminar on "Dalits, Backward Classes and Minorities" organised by the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, former MLA Vedanta Hemmige wondered if the Chief Minister was not aware of the problems faced by the people in rural areas when he was an MLA.

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