Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and former chief minister of the state, Siddaramaiah, on Wednesday, slammed the state government for “adopting divide and rule policy” by establishing a development authority for the Maratha community.
It can be recalled that after the Karnataka Government announced that a development board would be set up for the Maratha community, there has been resentment and backlash from the Opposition and pro-Kannada activists, the latter calling for a state-wide bandh on December 5 in protest.
“.@bsybjp, as always, is adopting divide and rule policy by establishing Maratha development authority. With only electoral benefits in mind, Yediyurappa is taking unscientific route of establishing development bodies based on only castes,” the former CM wrote on Twitter on Wednesday about CM B S Yediyurappa.
.@bsybjp, as always, is adopting divide and rule policy by establishing Maratha development authority. With only electoral benefits in mind, Yediyurappa is taking unscientific route of establishing development bodies based on only castes.
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— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 18, 2020
He then pointed out that “a comprehensive analysis of social reality” must be conducted before government programmes are decided. “Had @bsybjp been genuinely interested in alleviating the status of people, he could have accepted the Social and Educational Survey report that is ready to be released,” he wrote.
Hitting out at the state unit of the BJP, Siddaramaiah accused them of “destabilising social harmony through divisive politics” as they have been unable to compete on development agenda during elections. “This is against the democracy and social justice,” he added.
Condemning the government for “any decision which is only intended to reap political benefits”, he pointed out that there has been a dispute between the Kannadigas and the Marathis for long time now, and with the announcement of Marathi development authority, the CM “is instigating Kannadigas and disrupting peace”.
“I strongly oppose any decision taken against the interests of Kannadigas. There are many other pressing issues that needs government assistance. @BSYBJP should look into that first to address inequality before hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas,” the Congress leader added.
He then questioned where the government is getting “crores of funds for Marathi development boards” when it has no money for social security and “pro-people schemes”.
“When I was @CMofKarnataka, Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya, & other programs were implemented. These were not intended to divide people on caste or language.
“@BSYBJP has been neglecting these pro-people programs while announcing funds for projects that were not in the budget,” he added.
