Yeddy is Doing Opposition’s Work, Why Criticise Him?, Asks Puttaswamy
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Aug 24: The Cooperation Minister B J Puttaswamy, a strong loyalist of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, on Friday lashed out at the Congress and JD(S) leaders for criticizing his boss and said the opposition leaders should appreciate Yeddyurappa for doing their work rather than cricitise him.
Puttaswamy, who served as Political Secretary to Yeddyurappa when the latter was the chief minister and continued a regular tirade against JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is also the state JD(S) chief, singled out the JD(S) for the sharpest attack.
Taking a dig at the Deve Gowda family and his sons Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna, the JD(S) floor leader in the assembly, Puttaswamy predicted that the forthcoming assembly elections in the State ``will be the last for the JD(S).”
"Our beloved leader, Yeddyurappaji, is doing the job of the Opposition as the principal opposition party, Congress, and JD(S) had failed to perform their duties in touring the drought affected districts in the State,” he said.
Puttaswamy, who owes his Legislative Council membership and ministerial status to Yeddyurappa, said the Congress and JD(S) leaders should have toured the drought affected districts and listened to the problems of the people and bring the same to the notice of the Government for speedy redressal.
The visit of BJP leaders to the drought affected districts has woken up JD(S) leaders, he said pointing out that the JD(S) leaders have started attacking Yeddyurappa’s tour, ``Fearing of total rout of the JD(S) in the coming Assembly elections,” Stating that the JD(S) has no moral right to criticise BJP leaders tour, he said the cooperatives charged 12 per cent rate of interest on crop loans during the tenure of Deve Gowda as the Chief Minister and Prime Minister.
"Deve Gowda had done nothing to wipe out tears of farmers when he was in power even though he claims to be a son of the soil and leader of farmers,” he said.
The rate of interest on crop loans was reduced to 3 per cent when Yeddyurappa was the Finance Minister in the BJP-JD(S) coalition government despite the opposition from the then chief minister Kumaraswamy, Puttaswamy said.
The minister urged Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC President G Parameshwara to mount pressure on UPA Government to waive farmers’ loans availed from schedule banks instead of spending time to criticise the BJP Government.
Farmers had borrowed Rs 19,135 crore from schedule banks in the State, he said and urged the Central Government to waive such loans as the State was facing drought in 142 taluks in 2012 kharif season.
Four Union Ministers from Karnataka should mount pressure on the Central government to waive off crop loans from schedule banks, Puttaswamy said.