Bangalore, Apr 3: Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and external affairs minister S M Krishna hit the campaign trail in Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday.
Accompanied by State Congress chief G Parameshwara, ministers Roshan Baig, Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna took part a roadshow in an open jeep at Sampangiramnagar seeking votes for party candidate Rizwan Arshad. He waved to the crowd as the party workers shouted slogans in favour of the Congress.
Addressing the media persons earlier on the day, S M Krishna dismissed any "Modi wave". He said it was a propaganda by "vested interests" and took a jibe at the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate for "sidelining" senior leaders.
"We have seen those (Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi) waves. They were natural waves which emanated from the hearts of people ... But here the wave which has been created by vested interests is only to be talked and written about, but on the ground we do not see any wave (of Modi)," he told reporters.
Asked why Congress was delaying announcing its candidate against Modi from Varanasi if there was no "Modi wave", he said it would decide on it and there was plenty of time.
"Congress will announce the candidate. According to the calendar of events, Karnataka elections are going to held in the earlier phase and elections in Uttar Pradesh are going to be held at later phase, so there is plenty of time," the former Minister for External Affairs said before his roadshow in support of his party candidates in Bangalore.
He also alleged that lands of farmers had been given to companies like Adani at "questionable price".
"The kind of land dealings in Gujarat, they are just mindboggling. Thousands of acres of land have been given away to Adani and other one or two industrial hubs ... It is the price which when you are going through it, you just feel sorry for the farmers of Gujarat," he charged.
Asked whether Congress is in good position to capitalise on differences in the top BJP leadership, Krishna said, "That will be known on May 16 (counting day)."
Commenting on the "sidelining" of senior BJP leaders including L K Advani and Jaswant Singh by Modi, Krishna said "There is a veneer of dictatorship ... God forbid it if something is going to happen where would be our democracy. Then we will have to ask wither democracy, a big question mark."
On various "scams" during the UPA rule, Krishna said Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, believe in transparency "which is reflected in the corrective actions" taken by the party.
"Congress has an inbuilt machinery for bringing about corrective actions ...Whereever it is necessary we handed over the matter to CBI and referred to other investigative agencies - that shows Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi- they believe in certain transparency," he said.
On Congress giving tickets to "tainted ministers" like Pawan Kumar Bansal and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan (despite Adarsh scam), Krishna said, "As long as they have not been convicted, I think they are entitled to be treated like anybody else - like you and me."
Asked why Congress was making an issue when former BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and mining baron Janardhana Reddy also have not been convicted, he said, "Isn't it a fact that somebody ended up in jail..."
On former Union Minister C K Jaffer Sharief deserting Congress and impact of his exit on minority votes, Krishna said in its 129 years of existence the party has the capacity to bounce back even after losing stalwarts including Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.
Asked whether Aam Aadmi Party posed any challenge in the state, Krishna said his respect for it would have gone up if they had continued to govern Delhi.
"I was looking forward that they would bring changes.Yes, they brought in some fresh air into the theatre, but perhaps their inexperience prevented them from continuing in office beyond 49 days. I think that's where they failed," he said.
Opinion polls will go wrong '
Krishna said all opinion polls would be proved wrong once the election results are out on May 16 and the Congress will return to power at the Centre. “All opinion polls are against the Congress. We are used to this. You (the media) console yourself when the results are out,” he said.
The Congress leaders campaigned on the streets of Sampangiramnagar (near Kanteerava stadium) for close to an hour. Hundreds of party workers, including women and youth, took part in the roadshow. As Krishna passed through the narrow lanes, the Congress workers showered rose petals from atop highrise buildings to welcome their leader. He, however, did not make a speech during the hustings.
The 81-year-old Congress stalwart, who is maintaining a low profile ever since he resigned as the external affairs minister, decided to campaign for the party across the State after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara requested him recently. He will also campaign in his home district Mandya, where his followers are at loggerheads with the supporters of Housing Minister H M Ambarish.
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