Mysuru
Former chief minister and leader of the opposition in the assembly Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the BJP’s plan to emerge as the dominant party in Old Mysore region would fail, as it had in West Bengal.
Siddaramaiah pointed to the resources that the BJP had pumped to wrest control of West Bengal from the Trinamool Congress
. “But the party failed. The same story will unfold in Old Mysore region,” said Siddaramaiah, specifically pointing out that Union home minister Amit Shah’s plans had not borne fruit in Bengal.
Criticising the state government for issuing notice to merchants of the Muslim community in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, “It is clear that the BJP government is targeting one community, and this amounts to discrimination. The BJP is trying to sharpen communal fault lines to garner political mileage ahead of the assembly elections.”
Dismissing reports of his struggling to find a constituency to contest from, Siddaramaiah pointed out that he was a representative of Badami, and could contest from the same seat again. “Party workers across 20 assembly constituencies are asking me to contest from their respective segment,” he added.
Queried about inviting Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh to the Congress, the former CM said that he had not spoken to her. “But if she is willing to accept the principles of the Congress party, she is welcome to join the party,” he added.
