‘No pressure on me, just lost my cool’

Kalaburagi: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was unapologetic on Thursday for shouting at the protesting contract workers of the Yeramarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) recently for voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha poll, but coming to him for help with their problems. While admitting that he had lost his temper, Mr Kumaraswamy denied the pressure of his post was getting to him. “I continue to deal with people and issues seriously. There is no change in my attitude .I am very patient when I interact with people. I am not  under any sort of pressure owing to my position,” he asserted, speaking to reporters here before leaving for Ujlam village in Basavakalyana taluk.

Explaining his outburst, he said he lost his temper at Yeramarus because some youth were trying to stage a protest at the spot. “I had met their representative at the guesthouse, but they  wanted me to alight  from the bus and listen to them again. My ministerial colleagues, however, advised me against it , saying it  would delay his grama vastavya,” he added.  When his attention was drawn to the protest by members of the Valmiki Naik community for  7.5 per cent reservation, Mr Kumaraswamy retorted, “The order cannot be issued on the street.”  As for the cancellation of his village stay at Heroor (B), Afzalpur taluk,  he said it would be held in the same village in the first week of July. Mr Kumaraswamy saidlthough he had sought an appointment with the Maharashtra CM to discuss release of water from the Ujani dam to the Bhima river to help Karnataka deal with its water crisis, he had not responded as yet.