CM Cong leadership responsible for desertions: BL Shankar, Vice-President

He is one of the few politicians in Karnataka who candidly speaks on issues that others would rather avoid. Admitting the desertion of senior leaders is bound to damage the party, KPCC vice-president Dr B.L. Shankar believes they should have been treated with more respect. As for corruption, while he admits that corruption is there everywhere, at the level of ministers and legislators, he maintains elected representatives are themselves at the mercy of a corrupt system. Excerpt from an interview.

After four years of a smooth ride suddenly many leaders are leaving the party. Why this disillusionment with it?
If anyone says these desertions will not damage the party, they are not accepting the reality. Senior leaders are important and we must take them into confidence. It is a big challenge. I agree in the last four years, political management could have been better. Seniors should have been treated with respect. But this can be achieved even now.

Don’t you think the party was responsible for this?
If people feel something is lacking in political management, I think CM, PCC chief and party's central leadership are responsible. We need to improve a lot in state.

When B Janaradhan Poojary was PCC president, he would be the people’s voice even if it embarrassed the government. But now the PCC is no longer playing such a role
We have a system everywhere that the government controls the party. When late Devaraj Urs was CM, K.H. Patil was PCC president. The issues would come up before the state executive before going to the legislature party and then the cabinet. But now its the reverse. This is sad. The time has come for us to find a solution.

The perception is that whenever Congress comes to power, corruption rises in the state
Here in Karnataka, BJP proved otherwise between 2008 and 2013.

But many appointments made by this government are said to have been driven by corruption.
Corruption happens at three levels, at the officers’ level, among elected representatives and tailoring policies to make money. People are bothered about grassroot corruption. When the common man does not get the service he wants, when he fails to get respect and is harassed, he complains. Is the Congress responsible for this? No. All parties are part of this. What we see at the grassroots is PDOs selecting beneficiaries based on MLAs’ inputs. Corruption is part of our system. And elected representatives are at the mercy of the corrupt system.

My question is about corruption is at the highest level..
Caste and money and at times, muscle power have taken over our system. All parties want to win elections. Issues have been sidelined by personalities, ideology has been replaced by caste and money has replaced programmes. Corruption is there everywhere.

When the Congress was in opposition, it made a hue and cry over the loot of natural resources. But now you have programmes like Yettinahole and Paatala Gange which will cause irreparable damage to the environment
It is sad the environment has to suffer every time a developmental project is proposed. If any programme, be it a water project or something else, is not in consonance with the environment it will lead to destruction. Our ministers and legislators should have been a little more circumspect in their speech and action. What is happening now is that to win elections, you come out with big irrigation or other development project. No experts are involved in preparing the blueprint and instead politicians and bureaucrats prepare plans to win elections. The biggest irony is a programme like Pathala Gange. If such programmes are proposed, people are bound to suspect that politicians are making money through them. I suggest the government should avoid such programmes.

Moving on, how is the co-ordination between the government and the party?
When any party comes to power, the spotlight will be on government. CM, ministers and legislators get importance and the party and its office- bearers take a backseat. It is quite natural for office-bearers to blow hot and cold.

CM Siddaramaiah has been talking a great deal about Anna Bhagya and other flagship programmes of his government. But the reality is people are migrating in huge numbers from north Karnataka despite welfare schemes like Anna Bhagya.
Anna Bhagya has achieved its target. People are not dying from hunger any more. But two meals are not enough to keep a family content. We need to give them jobs. Programmes like MNREGA should have been implemented more effectively. Every year, people from north Karnataka come to coffee plantations in the Malnad region or go to Hyderabad or Mumbai where there is a lot of construction activity to make additional money. As their agricultural activity is restricted to one crop, they need more income. This is why they migrate.

The CM has been claiming the Congress government has fulfilled over 160 promises made in its 2013 manifesto. But the the standard of living in rural areas has gone down since 2013 when the party assumed power.
One rain should make the difference. When we don’t have water this is bound to happen. This can’t be construed as our failure. We have schemes to provide food and mid- day meals, create employment through MNREGA and to help children through the Vidyasri programme. We made some breakthroughs, but there are more challenges ahead. The biggest challenge is to achieve zero migration from rural areas to urban pockets.

With just a year to go for polls, are you confident that the Congress government, based on its achievements, can reconnect with people and retain power?
There is no doubt that we have programmes for all, children, students, women, farmers and oppressed classes. Now, the question is: whether these programmes have reached them and brought about the intended change in the last four years. This depends on bureaucrats and elected representatives from the panchayat to parliament. There are shortcomings in the implementation of schemes. For instance, take the Anna Bhagya. Fair prices shops are not giving foodgrains on time and are forcing people to buy from their shops. People blame the government when schemes do not reach them, but not the bureaucrats.