Channapatna/Ramanagara (Karnataka) [India]: In response to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s comment calling Kumaraswamy a “touring talkies,” Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy replied sharply, asserting, “I am not a touring talkies; I am a permanent talkies in Ramanagara”.
Campaigning in Sogala village, Kumaraswamy said, “I am permanently based in Ramanagara. I am not going anywhere, and no one can make me leave. Dirty politics may succeed once, but it won’t work every time,” he remarked.
He also questioned Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll.
“Rahul Gandhi ran away from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to Wayanad — what kind of ‘Talkies’ is he? Priyanka Gandhi, instead of contesting from UP, came to Wayanad to support her brother — what ‘Talkies’ are they? Instead of cleaning up your own house, don’t worry about others,” Kumaraswamy criticized.
“Why do Congress leaders keep focusing on my family but say nothing about the Nehru-Gandhi family? Why don’t they dare to raise questions about them? Is there one standard for them and another for us?” he questioned.
The Union Minister took a dig at the Congress government over the implementation of their guarantees.
“They should be asking for votes based on their development agenda, but instead, they are asking for votes in my name! They claim to have implemented guarantees, so they should be seeking votes on those grounds. But they aren’t; instead, they’re only talking badly about me. The people will answer them,” Kumaraswamy said.
“Congress didn’t even have a candidate. They hijacked ours. The person who jumped ship from BJP to Congress was politically nurtured by none other than Yediyurappa, yet they later treated him inhumanely. I urge people not to be deceived by someone so undeserving of trust,” the Union Minister appealed.