MYSURU
Remarks by MP Pratap Simha, who on Saturday questioned former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s credentials to question the state of the economy, have not gone down well with the Congress party. On Sunday, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesman M Lakshmana sought to remind Simha that CM Basavaraj Bommai, former CM BS Yediyurappa and late Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, all three of whom had presented budgets – state and Union – too had no academic background in economics.
Yediyurappa tabled six state budgets, and Bommai has tabled one. Simha must clarify if either of them has studied economics, Lakshmana said.
As an advocate, Siddaramaiah has no knowledge of economics, Simha had said. Lakshmana said that Simha’s remarks amounted to a jibe at advocates at large. Simha is trying to ingratiate himself with the leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Since the local BJP leaders dislike him, Simha is faced with a problem. He may not get the ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls again, which is why he is targeting Siddaramaiah, who has been questioning the RSS, Lakshmana said.
Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna a protected monument
A day after Srirangapatna, which witnessed tense moments on Saturday, when activists of Hindu outfits held a rally and set a deadline to allow pujas at the Jamia Masjid in the temple town, former minister and senior Congress leader Tanveer Sait on Sunday approached the Mandya district administration, and officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), requesting them to convene a meeting to discuss the issue.
Charging activists of Hindu outfits with trying to create a controversy, Sait, also the MLA for Narasimharaja constituency in Mysuru, said, “The Jamia Masjid is the property of the Waqf Board, and maintained by the ASI, since it is a protected monument. I have asked the Mandya district administration to convene a meeting, and clear the air over this issue.”
Dismayed over attempts being made by groups with vested interests to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the Old Mysore region, Sait appealed to the state government to unequivocally criticise such actions.
