Pics: Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)

Mangaluru, Dec 31: Veteran Congress leader Janardhan Poojary on Saturday December 31 said that chief minister Siddaramaiah should resign from his office as a recent survey of people on who they preferred as their next chief minister had placed him third, with former chief ministers Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy taking the top two positions.

Addressing a press meet on the last day of the year, Poojary said, "In the survey conducted by a popular daily in the state, the people have opined that Yeddyurappa should be the next chief minister. Siddaramaiah is in the third position, which shows that the people of this state are fed up with Siddaramaiah.

"It is the right time for Siddaramaiah to step down and pave the way for Kharge or Parameshwar among the Dalits, D K Shivakumar or S M Krishna among the Vokkaligas, or S R Patil from the Lingayath community. I had predicted the same. The high command should consider any one of the above. If Siddaramaiah continues to be the chief minister for the next term, not only will Congress lose power but the party itself will cease to exist, as Siddaramaiah is a politician who believes in changing political parties for power," he charged.

Critising the state government for refusing to withdraw the Yettinahole project, Poojary said, "Union forest minister Anil Madhav Dhave has stated that no permission was given by the union ministry of forests to cut trees. If this is the case, how could the state government cut the trees? There is still time. You (Siddaramaiah) can make an announcement and stop the project. Instead of Yettinahole, you can go for the Mekedatu project or take the water from Narayanpura reservoir to Kolar. What is the need to stick to Yettinahole project?"

When asked about Siddaramaiah's remark that there was no need to give importance to Poojary's comments, the latter said, "It was Poojary who campaigned for you (Siddaramaiah) in Varuna. The Brahmans, the Lingayaths were not accepting Congress leaders and workers because of your attitude. When I went to every house they said, 'since it is you, we are letting you in'. You won by a margin of mere 267 votes in Varuna. If 137 votes had shifted, your political career would have finished. Keep that in mind."

Commenting on national issues, he said, "Prime Minister Modi must take steps to waive off the loans taken by farmers and announce new projects for the empowerment of youth and women. The UPA had abolished Rs 72,000 crore of farmers' loan. The Prime Minister has the power to do this, but he cannot, he must resign from office."