Vijayapura: Accusing Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol of trying to play Dalit card in the politics than taking criticism positively in public life, DCC President Raju Algur has condemned the action of Karjol.
Addressing presspersons on Tuesday January 11, he said that Karjol is taking Dalit associations as shelter to play politics. “I am also a Dalit and into politics for over 20 years, and I have never used my caste and Dalit community to take political gains or to take shelter from the criticism. We expect the same thing even from veteran Dalit leader such as Karjol,” he said.
Alleging that Karjol has developed the habit of creating confusion and spreading canards in Dalit matter, he said that even in case of Mekedatu project, he is doing the same. Algur said that Karjol has been making all such efforts by giving false news and trying to tarnish the image of Congress leaders such as M. B. Patil.
He also criticised Karjol for giving sponsor-less advertisements in newspapers on the Mekedatu project. “It does not suit the seniority of Karjol as he is giving such misleading advertisements in newspapers. He should desist from doing such acts,” he said.
Stating that M. B. Patil has called Karjol an unfit person to hold the post of Minister,” he said “Now, if Karjol cannot tolerate even this common criticism, then it is not a good precedent. “Even Karjol, when he was in opposition, has made several allegations against M. B. Patil and other leaders. Now, when Karjol is being criticised for his actions, he is not only taking it personally but also playing Dalit card”, he said.
In his address, Congress leader Somanath Kallimani said that Karjol is behaving as if he is the only Dalit in the State. “When someone criticises Karjol, he tries to project it as if the entire Dalit community is being insulted. This shows how weak he is in taking criticism positively,” he said.
He said that when the Congress government was implementing irrigation projects coming under the Upper Krishna Project, Karjol demanded the government to offer Rs. 40 lakh/acre as compensation to each farmer who is losing land. “Now, Karjol himself has become Water Resources Minister, let him get the same compensation given to the farmers to prove that he is a competent Minister,” he said.
