Accusing Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge of resorting to vindictive and revenge politics, Member of Parliament from Kalaburagi Umesh Jadhav asked the Congress leader to shun vendetta politics and try to take the district to the top by focusing on development works.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Dr. Jadhav said that Mr. Kharge is using the police to harass BJP leader Manikanth Rathod who contested against him [Priyank Kharge] from Chittapur constituency in the recent Assembly elections and was defeated.
He also came down heavily on Mr. Kharge for using the police to foil a protest led by Mr. Rathod in Chittapur last week. Mr. Rathod planned to stage a protest against the police for their failure to arrest the culprits involved in Devanand Koraba’s murder. The next day after he was detained, Mr. Rathod was again forced to visit Madbool Police Station and remanded to 14 days in custody.
Within three months of coming to power of the Congress-led government, the district has turned into a den of crimes, Dr. Jadhav said and recollected the recent incidents in which gram panchayat members of Savalagi in Kalaburagi taluk and Inolli in Chincholi taluk were kidnapped by Congress workers. Though cases have been booked against the culprits, none of them have been arrested.
In Jewargi taluk, a police constable was crushed to death by a sand mafia truck on June 15 and no action has been taken against the culprit yet. On August 17, a 50-year-old man, who was picked up by the Ashok Nagar Police, died in police custody and the police have not initiated further action in the case even after two weeks. Dr. Jadhav accused the district police of acting like a puppet in the hands of Mr. Kharge who is trying to suppress the voices of those who speak against him.
Mr. Kharge, who holds the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj portfolio, should take up development works in rural areas across the State, instead of indulging in revenge politics against BJP leaders, Dr. Jadhav said.
BJP leaders Shashil Namoshi, Shivaraj Patil Raddewadagi, Siddaji Patil, Manikanth Rathod and Harshanand Guttedar were present.
