Bengaluru: It’s most unfortunate that BJP and JD(S) are politicising the Cauvery issue, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Tuesday, adding that the protest is neither in the interest of the state nor the people.
Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that calling for bandh is allowed in a democracy. But, the court had directed against protests or meetings. “When we exercise our fundamental rights, the rights of others should also be kept in mind. The court had given an order that people should not be troubled,” he said.
Against that backdrop, the government had clamped the prohibitory orders under the IPC Section 144, he added. Asked about BJP’s protest by wearing only shorts in Mandya district, CM Siddaramaiah said, “The BJP activists were called as “Chaddis” (mocking the RSS outfit of khaki shorts) by us. Let them carry out the protest. They should not indulge in politics. The issue should not be politicised for political gains. This is not in the interest of the state.”
Instead of staging a protest with shorts, the BJP leaders should be told that they have 25 MPs and should pressure the BJP government and PM Modi, he stated.
Reacting to the charge that the Congress government is acting as a B-team of the DMK government, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the DMK government is ruling Tamil Nadu state.
If the allegation is made on these lines, what should the alliance between the BJP and AIADMK, earlier, be described as? The statements should not be issued for the sake of politics.