Siddaramaiah: When there’s no govt, where is the question of its taking off?

Mysuru: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday remarked that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state is yet to take off.

He was speaking to the media near his residence at Sharadadevinagar in Mysuru on Sunday, before he headed to visit flood-hit areas in the Varuna and HD Kote constituencies in Mysuru district.

He said, “When there is no government where is the question of taking off? Mr Yediyurappa was Chief Minister without a ministry for 20 days and now 17 leaders have been made ministers. Due to floods, people of the state, have lost their houses and belongings and their documents and have fled their homes in only the clothes they wore. Ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 won't be sufficient to them. They should be given a minimum Rs 1 lakh,” he said.

Reacting to disqualified rebel MLA M.T.B. Nagaraj's statement, the former chief minister said, “He was with me and still he cheated me. People will teach them (rebels) a lesson for all this drama. We don’t know whom to trust. Those for whom I secured tickets, turned against me. The word ‘trust’ has lost its meaning in politics. This will go on. But people will finally decide their fate,” he said.

On the Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilling D.K. Shivakumar he maintained that the Bharatiya Janata Party was involved in the ‘politics of hate’ and was targeting only Congress leaders.

Siddaramaiah visited flood-hit areas, including those in T Narsipur, H D Kote and Varuna constituencies.

Former MP R. Druvanarayan, former minister H.C. Mahadevappa and others accompanied him.