Bengaluru, Oct 12 — Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said it is wrong to drag the Chief Justice of India (CJI) into politics and called on the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to demonstrate political maturity.
He criticised the Congress for seeking an appointment with the Chief Justice over electoral issues, questioning whether the party understood the need to respect constitutional institutions and the people holding constitutional offices.
Kumaraswamy also questioned the Congress's objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking how the party could oppose voter verification while the Karnataka government was reviewing beneficiaries of its guarantee schemes.
Speaking about SIR, he said the exercise was not new and had been carried out for several years. Congress leaders had alleged that voters' names were being deleted from electoral rolls and that the numbers of voters belonging to certain communities were being deliberately reduced.
While acknowledging the importance of voting rights, Kumaraswamy said political leaders should also discuss people's welfare and the implementation of government schemes before turning the issue into a political controversy.
He said Congress leaders should respect the protocols governing constitutional institutions while speaking about the Constitution.
Questioning the purpose of the Congress-led INDIA Bloc seeking an appointment with the Chief Justice to discuss political issues, he said leaders should understand what matters could appropriately be raised before constitutional authorities and how established protocols should be followed.
Referring to the Karnataka government's guarantee schemes, Kumaraswamy said surveys and verification were being conducted because of concerns that eligible beneficiaries were not receiving their entitlements while ineligible people were receiving financial assistance.
He demanded that the state government explain why the number of beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, widow pensions, disability pensions and old-age pensions had been reduced by 16 lakh to 20 lakh. He asked the government to disclose the reasons for the reductions and the criteria used to remove beneficiaries.
Referring to reports that Rs 79 crore had been credited to the bank accounts of 79 deceased beneficiaries and that the money was being recovered, Kumaraswamy said beneficiary verification was necessary to prevent funds from reaching ineligible people or being disbursed in the names of deceased persons.
He questioned why a similar verification exercise in the case of electoral rolls was being turned into a political controversy by the Congress.
Kumaraswamy also criticised Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, alleging that instead of responding to questions surrounding the sting operation controversy, he was spending time on a photoshoot at the Mysuru Palace.
Referring to photographs of CM Shivakumar sitting in front of the royal throne, Kumaraswamy sarcastically said the practice was being presented as though it represented a new culture. He also recalled the saying, “Ati vinayam durlakshanam,” which suggests that excessive humility can be a sign of an undesirable trait.
Reiterating his criticism of the Congress leadership, Kumaraswamy said dragging the Chief Justice of India into political matters was inappropriate.
He called on LoP Rahul Gandhi to conduct politics with greater maturity and questioned how the Chief Justice could be expected to meet political leaders simply because they had taken their demands to the Supreme Court.
Kumaraswamy alleged that LoP Rahul Gandhi lacked respect for constitutional institutions and the individuals holding constitutional offices.
JDS Core Committee chairman M. Krishnareddy, MLA Meluru Ravi, Greater Bengaluru JDS president H.M. Ramesh Gowda and several other leaders were present.