Vijayendra accuses CM Shivakumar of misusing power

Tumakuru

Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Sunday accused Chief Minister D K Shivakumar of misusing power and criticised the Congress government over several issues, including the Form 7 controversy, the NICE project and drought relief. Addressing a press conference at Hagalavadi Junjappana Hatti in Gubbi taluk, Vijayendra alleged that the government was using the Form 7 issue as a pretext to target BJP workers. He said Form 7 is an Election Commission mechanism through which objections can be raised against names in electoral rolls. Vijayendra claimed that BJP workers had faced FIRs and action over applications submitted during the voter revision process. The BJP has previously disputed Shivakumar's allegation of a large-scale conspiracy to delete voters, while the Chief Minister has sought investigation into alleged misuse of Form 7. Vijayendra also criticised the government's handling of the NICE project and the proposed Bidadi township project. He alleged that farmers were protesting against the developments and accused the government of failing to adequately address drought-related problems. He questioned the state's financial position and demanded that the government issue a white paper on its finances. The BJP leader further criticised Shivakumar over remarks concerning Veerashaiva-Lingayat mutts and said the people would respond to what he described as the government's misuse of power. These were political allegations made by Vijayendra at the press conference. On the BJP-JD(S) alliance, Vijayendra said the two parties' national leaders wanted them to continue working together. He said he had discussed the matter with JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and suggested that the parties should begin discussions on seat-sharing for upcoming Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections. The BJP and JD(S) have already agreed to jointly contest the four upcoming Karnataka Legislative Council seats, with leaders of both parties holding coordination meetings.