In what can be called a beginning of a fresh strife between the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leader D K Shivakumar, the former minister has warned the CM of dire consequences if he (Mr Kumaraswamy) lays foundation stone to some of the proposed development projects in Sathanur Assembly constituency.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy himself made this public during a function, to lay foundation stone to various developmental projects in Bantwal taluk here on Monday. Without taking the name of Mr Shivakumar, the CM said the MLA of Sathanur has sent a letter to his office on Monday expressing his disappointment over the proposed development projects in his constituency.
“The letter stated that the government should have consulted the local MLA before chalking out the projects. It said if the CM proceeds to launch the projects without considering his suggestion, there will be dire consequences, for which he will not be responsible later,” Mr Kumaraswamy revealed. The CM is supposed to launch the projects in Kanakapura and Sathanur on August 28 and 29.
He said the constituency is in 173rd position regarding infrastructural development as per Nanjundappa Report, though it is just 54 km away from the capital. However, all will be helpless if the MLA of the area himself is against the new projects. Politicians having decades of experience in the field should not go for such narrow mentality, he said.
The MLA was not ready to meet even the Deputy Commissioner regarding the foundation stone laying ceremony. There have also been incidents where officials faced threats for inviting tenders, he noted.
Mr Kumaraswamy said there is no question of leading the government, fearing the somebody else’s threat . “Voters should teach proper lessons to those politicians who are engaged in narrow politics,” he added.
Later, in Mangalore CM reiterated that developmental works will not suffer in Sathanur and planned works will be taken up at any cost.
To another query on former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement on the failure of coalition government, CM said “the success and failure of coalition government in the State should be decided by the people and not by Siddaramaiah.”
“Our government does not want any certificate from Siddaramaiah,” he said and added, “He (Siddaramaiah) should sit and think how much success he has attained when he was in power. I need not respond to Siddaramaiah’s statement.”
He said “the pangs of arecanut growers and coffee growers has been informed to the government and a meeting of the growers and the marketing bodies will be held so as to find a permanent solution in 8 to 10 days.” He said that excess rainfall in the region has ruined areca yield, throwing the growers in the region into dire straits. He also said that government is concerned about those young women who are stranded in lives due to marital problems.
Aid for women
“During my village stay programme, very often huge number of young women who have been abandoned or divorced come to seek help. When I proposed to provide them monetary benefit they often said that they are not educated enough to utilise the funds,” he said.
In this regard he said the government has placed  greater priority on  women’s  education, so that  they are in a position to lead their own lives.