Daijiworld Media Network - Vijayapura (MS)
Vijayapura, Mar 28: BJP MP of the district Ramesh Jigajinagi has said that it is time for a Dalit to become the chief minister of the state. It is suspected that he is also treading the rebellious path adopted by BJP MLA of the city Basanagouda Patil Yatnal who has been vociferously critical of Yediyurappa and his son.
Speaking at a press conference here, Jigajinagi said, "In Karnataka, people from communities that have just two to three percent of population have become chief minister. But so far no one from the Dalit community, that forms 23% population in the state, has become chief minister. At least now a Dalit should be made the chief minister of Karnataka," said Ramesh Jigajinagi.
"Just because I have urged that a Dalit should become chief minister of Karnataka does not mean that I am greedy of occupying the position. Currently I am in politics at center. If the party wishes, I am ready to return to state politics. State politics is not new to me. I was a minister here also. This means that I have gone from state to centre. So even if I return to state politics I can manage things efficiently," he said.
In a press conference, he also slammed his own party's government over distribution of electricity in the state. "30,000 MegaWatt (MW) of electricity is being produced in the state. Not even 50% of it is being used. Farmers are still facing hardship due to shortage of power. This shows the utter negligence of the minister who is handling the energy portfolio.
"There is no scarcity of electricity production in Karnataka. In total, 30,000 MW of electricity is being produced, out of which NTPC, RTPS, BTPS and YTPS jointly produce 5,800 MW of thermal electricity, hydroelectricity of 3,500 MW is being produced by various reservoirs, atomic power of 2,000 MW, wind power of 4,500 MW and 6,500 MW of solar electricity. But only 14,500 MW is being used in the state. Where is the rest going to? Farmers are taking me to task wherever I go. I will have a discussion with chief minister Yediyurappa soon in this regard and find out a solution," he said.
To the question of providing ticket for bye-election, Ramesh Jigajinagi taunted state BJP and said, "How can I say who is going to get the BJP party ticket in the Sindagi bye-election? After Ram Vilas Paswan, I am the strongest leader of Dalits in this country. However, when it comes to my district, I am just a common BJP worker. So is it possible for me to get a party ticket to anyone as I am not a leader?"