Siddaramaiah's defeat from Chamundeshwari in state poll behind Kodagu floods: Kuruba

Bengaluru: Kanaka Peetha seer, Niranjanandapuri Swamy has stoked a controversy by blaming the devastating floods and landslides that hit Kodagu district in 2018 on the defeat of former Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah from Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in May last year. Speaking at the inauguration of Kanaka Bhavan in Mysuru, the seer claimed that even  nature was furious  at the defeat of a Halumatha  (Kuruba) community leader as was seen in the deluge that flooded the hilly district afterwards.

“ Mr Siddaramaiah provided good governance and introduced several welfare schemes for the people. But despite this he was humiliated in Chamundeshwari constituency. And Kodagu paid for this,”  he contended, adding that a community was responsible for Mr Siddaramaiah’s defeat in Mysuru district and did him grave injustice.

“Mr Siddaramaiah can topple the incumbent government any time for the injustice done to the Halumatha community, but he won't,” he added, indirectly attacking the Vokkaligas, who usually back the Janata Dal (S), which is a coalition partner of the Congress in the state government. To substantiate  his point, Swamy recalled that when saint Kanakadasa did not get a darshan of  Lord Krishna despite  being a staunch devotee, Udupi had experienced tremors.

Mr Siddaramaiah, who contested the last assembly poll from two constituencies, Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district and Badami in Bagalkot district,  lost to  Mr G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) in Chamundeshwari, and won by a wafer thin margin in Badami constituency.