‘No differences between Siddaramaiah and me’
BENGALURU: Heading into the Karnataka assembly elections, state Congress president G Parameshwara, in an interview to Vikram Gopal, says his party is set to sail through as the opposition BJP is left only with the communal pitch. Excerpts:
How is the Congress campaign coming along?
We strategised to push programmes that were successfully implemented with the CM on one side and the state unit on the other… The CM is going to the 125 constituencies where government programmes are to be launched... I am going to the constituencies where we lost last time...
There have been frequent reports of differences between you and Siddaramaiah…
That is not true. He is the CM and I am the PCC president and we have different roles to play. And those roles should not be seen as our differences.
Since 1985, no incumbent government has returned to power in the state. What is your projection for this election?
I am confident that we will come back with a majority… People want development… In a majority of the 224 constituencies we have provided the basic necessities that people want.
Some leaders in your party have criticised the induction of Janata Dal (Secular) rebels. What is your view on this?
In every election you have seen people joining and leaving... everybody wants to get into power. This time, some JD(S) friends wanted to join... Even Siddaramaiah joined Congress [from the JD(S) in 2006] and is a CM now.
Senior Congressman SM Krishna was your mentor. His joining the BJP must have come as a big blow to you?
It was really disturbing for me personally and for the party because many looked up to him as a cultured person who had given good governance as CM… But life moves on.
With elections around the corner, communal tensions are on the rise in coastal Karnataka. How will the Congress address this?
We knew this was coming because the BJP did nothing worthwhile when in power. I have been watching the Parivartana Yatra [of state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa] very closely… they are using the communal card. A CM like Yogi Adityanath comes here and makes a statement of Hindutva... 80% of the Congressmen are Hindus. Who has made [BJP] the custodian of Hindus?
Some reports suggest Gandhi will tour temples in Karnataka. Is the Congress banking on soft Hindutva?
[Jawaharlal] Nehru, Indira Gandhi, [Lal Bahadur] Shastri used to visit temples. And all our senior-most leaders who were the faces of Congress visited temples…
The party has made Siddaramiah the face of its campaign. If Congress wins, will you be a CM candidate again?
The Congress Legislature Party will take a decision in the presence of central observers.