BM Farookh slams Siddaramaiah for pulling up brother

Bengaluru: “I don’t know why Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shouted at my brother , B A Mohidin Bava. It is unbecoming of him to insult my brother in front of other legislators,” said Mr B.M. Farookh, who has been fielded by the Janata Dal (Secular) for the Rajya Sabha.

Maintaining that he and his brother lived separate lives, he said Mr Siddaramaiah was unnecessarily holding Mr Bava responsible for his decision to contest the   Rajya Sabha elections on a JD(S) ticket. “We are both independent people. I cannot stop my brother if he wants to join the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he added.

Calling the Congress party “anti-Muslim”, he said although it claimed to champion the minorities cause, it had not fielded even one Muslim candidate for the Rajya Sabha across the country.  The Janata Dal(S), on the other hand, had proved its secular credentials by fielding him. 

"The main reason the Congress has fielded its third candidate,  Ramamurthy  in the Rajya Sabha poll is to defeat a Muslim candidate from another party. If the Congress is pro-Muslim, it must direct Mr Ramamurthy to withdraw his nomination to ensure the victory of all four candidates unanimously. The Congress has been taking the Muslims for a ride without doing anything for their upliftment," he charged.

Mr Farookh also accused the ruling Congress of offering a Rs 25 crore special grant for development of constituencies to all 10 independent legislators to gain their support for its Rajya Sabha nominees. “Now some Congress legislators are planning to vote for other candidates as the anti-defection law does not apply in RS polls,” he claimed.

Mr Farookh, who explained that he was not a full time realtor but a joint developer working with many builders and had invested in wind and solar energy projects in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and other states, said he was confident he would get the support of all 40 JD(S) MLAs.