Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (DC)

Udupi, Mar 28: "Congress leader Pramod Madhawaraj has quit the Congress owing to his hunger for power and managed to get JD(S) Lok Sabha ticket by approaching chief minister H D Kumaraswamy," said BJP MLA Raghupati Bhat here on Thursday March 28.

Speaking to reporters here at the BJP party office, Bhat said, "Several loyal Congressmen are disappointed with Pramod contesting as the alliance candidate in the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency. JD(S) has no voter base in Udupi. It does not even have a taluk panchayat member here. In Bengaluru North, the Congress succeeded in getting support after fighting unitedly and the party could have put in same effort in Udupi too.

"This time Congress supporters will vote for the BJP. There is pro-BJP atmosphere and our candidate Shobha Karandlaje will win by a huge margin of 40,000 votes. There is no enmity between me and Shobha," he said.

"In the last assembly elections, the people taught a lesson to Pramod Madhwaraj for lying that he brought Rs 2,500 crore aid to the district. Pramod must clarify as to what he will do if he loses as he has already quit his party though he has not made his decision public."

Bhat demanded CM Kumaraswamy's apology for allegedly insulting the people of coastal region when he said people here vote for BJP despite getting assistance from his government.

Bhat also blamed Pramod for the current ban on sand mining. "Pramod is directly responsible for the sand issue. I am ready to expose his involvement and I have evidence for it. During Siddaramaiah's governance, Pramod pressured the district administration to ban sand mining. There should be a screening committee for sand extraction to avoid any legal hurdle."

Bhat alleged that the DC did not take his opinion on supplying water thrice a week. "The DC must drop the decision to supply water only thrice a week as there is no shortage now. If there is shortage, take immediate measures of supplying it through water tankers."

Bhat also refuted allegations of BJP's role in T J Abraham and Pramod Madhwaraj case. "We do not want to take political gains by using Pramod's personal matter. Our party activists are enough to expose Pramod and we do not need any other activists. We will also not invite Abraham to give speech on BJP's behalf," he added.

Local BJP leaders were present at the press meet.