Those speaking lightly of JD(S) will regret: HDK

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The JD(S) pancharatna rath yatra caravan reached Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural on Monday as HD Kumaraswamy tried to play up the positive response to his party’s programme, implying that people of Kolar and Chikkaballapura favoured them over other parties. The former chief minister said that rivals Congress and BJP had been underestimating the JD(S) and would live to regret it.

The response to us has been even bigger than we expected. In the coming days, the people of both Kolar and Chikkaballapura district would send a message to those political parties who are speaking lightly of us. I would like to say with confidence that that those who spoke lightly of us have been answered by the people of these districts.

“In Kolar, people gave us their wholehearted support. In Chikkaballapura as well, people gave us a good response in all five taluks that we visited. Yesterday, I wrapped up the programme at 1 am. Even then people addressed us and even brought their problems to us,” he said.

Kumaraswamy was indirectly referring to comments made by State Health Minister K Sudhakar and Revenue Minister R Ashoka, who had implied that the JD(S) legislature party leader had been making tall claims and misleading people.

JD(S) panchartana programme makes five promises: free education, free health care, free housing, guaranteed employment for at least one member of the household and addressing of farmers’ issues.He added that the majority of the complaints he had received from people had been farm-related.

“Yesterday, when I was travelling towards the Chikkaballapura APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) yard, a farmer came to me with tears in his eyes and produced a slip, saying how little he had been re-compensated for his produce, which was mainly vegetables. He told me he had taken a loan of Rs 10 lakh. In villages, these issues are ubiquitous,” Kumaraswamy said.