Congress, JD-S Rally Against Yeddyurappa Rule
Bangalore/Shimoga, May 9 (IANS): The Congress and Janata Dal(Secular) in Karnataka staged rallies Monday in Bangalore and Shimoga, respectively, against "corruption" and "various scams" in the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
The Congress took out a march from the Freedom Park here to Raj Bhavan, about a km away, and submitted a memorandum to Governor H.R. Bhardwaj demanding action against the Yeddyurappa government for failing to stop illegal mining and "indulging in massive corruption and illegal land deals".
"The governor has assured that he would act on our memorandum within the constitutional limits of the governor's office," state Congress president G. Parameshwara told reporters after meeting Bhardwaj.
Ahead of the march to Raj Bhavan, Congress leaders addressed a party workers meeting at the Freedom Park attacking Yeddyurappa and the BJP for "corruption not seen during Congress rule in the country or any state".
Central Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes, party leaders in charge of state affairs Sanjay Nirupam and Madhusoodan Mistry, and leader of opposition in the assembly Siddaramaiah addressed the party workers.
The JD(S), which launched a "Janandolana" (people's agitation) against the Yeddyurappa government May 6 by taking out rallies in different parts of the state, concluded it with a public meeting in Shimoga, Yeddyurappa's home district, about 280 km from Bangalore.
JD(S) president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy slammed the BJP government and Yeddyurappa for "favouring his kin in land allotment, large-scale corruption and allowing rampant illegal mining".