Bengaluru: An aspiring MLA candidate from the Congress, Siddanna Meti, seems to be keeping the Baina beach issue alive, though local Kannada organisations have washed their hands of the tangle.
A Karnataka officer, who had worked in Goa and was privy to discussions with the Goa government over the issue, told Deccan Chronicle that it was Mr Meti, a Kuruba leader like Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is stoking the fire to get a Congress ticket for the 2018 assembly elections.
Mr Meti has been active as chairman of the Confederation of Goa Kannada Organisations, fighting for the cause of Kannadigas in Goa. As he regularly hosts Karnataka politicians, he came in contact with a few officials in the CM’s secretariat, through which he gained access to Mr Siddaramaiah and won his confidence. He managed to make his wife get back in the electoral rolls of Vijayapura and made her the Zilla Panchayat president of Vijayapura district after she won the polls. Now, he wants to get a Congress ticket from one of the constituencies in Vijayapura or Bagalakote. Towards that end, he has kept the Baina issue burning, the officer said.
“He had unsuccessfully contested the Goa assembly elections on a JD(S) ticket. After Siddaramaiah became the chief minister, he came in contact with a few Kuruba leaders which helped him make his wife the ZP president in Vijayapura. To convince the Congress top brass of his social work, he has kept the issue alive," the officer said.
“Prostitution and other rackets are rampant on Baina beach. That’s why people do not want to move from there," the officer said. The encroachers, including Kannadigas, stay within 100 metres of the sea which is a violation of CRZ rules.
“That’s why other Kannada organisations refused to help them,” he said.
When contacted, Mr Meti vehemently denied that his role in the Baina issue is to get a ticket for the assembly elections. “Five-star Kannada organisations in Goa do not fight the cause of Kannadigas. But I have been fighting for this issue since 2004. Do you think I fought for 13 years keeping an eye on 2018 elections?"
He, however, said that he has worked for the poor after his wife became Vijayapura Zilla Panchayat president. “People in the district realise that I am genuine. Many people want a Kuruba leader be given ticket here. I am not an aspirant. The party has to decide," he said.
A Congress leader from Vijayapura district said that Mr Meti might try to get ticket from Devara Hipparagi or Sidhagi or Beelagi in Bagalakote district.
