HDK’s comment sharpens demand for separate state

People in North Karnataka, especially the Mumbai-Karnataka region bordering Maharashtra, on Monday demanded a separate state peeved at the statement made by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

The Chief Minister, addressing party workers on Sunday, directly blamed north Karnataka people for their misery because they had not voted for the JD(S). He said the people voted on caste lines and did not remember the JD(S) or ‘a man called Kumaraswamy.’ “Now you want complete waiver of farm loans and say your region is neglected. I allocated more funds to Belagavi than my own constituency of Ramnagara,” he said.

The CM’s statement has kicked up a huge row in north Karnataka - a region that is much backward than the south - triggering a movement for a separate state. People of the region see this as an insult from Kumaraswamy. A bandh has been called for August 2 in north Karnataka for separate statehood.

The movement for a separate state is not new and it has been lying dormant for some time. Now Kumaraswamy seems to have woken up the proverbial sleeping dog.

The Congress has accused the BJP of fanning the separate statehood fire. The BJP''s vote bank of the powerful Lingayats dominate this region.

But BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa has blamed Kumaraswamy''s father HD Deva Gowda for trying to drive in a wedge between the two regions.

The JD(S) has a strong base in Old Mysuru region and has been desperately, but unsuccessfully, trying to gain a foothold in north Karnataka. Every time it is defeated in polls it is because of north Karnataka region. And behind all this is the war between Lingayats and Vokkaligas - the community of HDK.

The region is also emotional on two vital issues: Mahadayi river water issue and the move to give separate religious tag for Lingayats.

The Chief Minister, addressing party workers on Sunday, directly blamed north Karnataka people for their misery because they had not voted for the JD(S)