The Congress has ridiculed as “self-certification” the assertive posture of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who on Thursday remarked that he would complete his full term and that none of the legislators or the people of the State had any doubt in it.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Friday, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar questioned the necessity of making such a declaration. He said leaders of the ruling BJP have been predicting a change in leadership in the State after January 15. Some political developments in the party have forced Mr. Yediyurappa to issue the statement, Mr. Shivakumar claimed.
On Thursday, Mr. Yediyurappa said he would continue as Chief Minister till the next Assembly elections and ruled out any possibility of a change of guard.
On the government’s inability to trace people who have returned to the State from the U.K. and spread of a new strain of the coronavirus, Mr. Shivakumar blamed the regime’s laxity on the matter. Going by the common sense, the government should have conducted COVID-19 tests at airports on all passengers returning from the U.K., he said.
He said the failure of both the Union and State governments to contain COVID-19 spread had caused a lot of hardship for the common man.
On the gram panchayat election results, the KPCC chief said he was satisfied with them. Despite the “money power of the ruling BJP”, a good number of Congress-backed candidates won across the State, he claimed. He said the party would focus on organisation in 2021 and launch battles against the BJP government by motivating block-level office-bearer.
Mr. Shivakumar also welcomed the government’s decision to reopen schools and colleges in the State on Friday.
