Congress launches 2nd leg of Praja Dhwani Yatra at Bidar and Kolar district of Karnataka

Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah is leading the yatra in North Karnataka, and KPCC president DK Shivakumar is in South Karnataka. The party is expected to carry out the yatra in all 224 Assembly segments in poll-bound Karnataka.

The first leg of the bus yatra was launched from Belagavi on 11 January. After campaigning in 22 districts, the yatra concluded in Bidar on 29 January.

Details of Siddaramaiah’s leg of the yatra

The Siddaramaiah-led team kick-started its leg of the yatra from Basavakalyan in Bidar on Friday.

Before that, the CLP leader offered floral tributes to the social reformer Basavanna at Anubhava Mantapa.

As many as 35 senior leaders of the party are accompanying the former chief minister in this month-long yatra.

For the next two weeks, Siddaramaiah will campaign in the Kalaburagi, Yadagiri, and Vijayapura districts in North Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah told reporters: “I believe in the philosophy of Sharana Basavanna. My ideology is that everyone should get equal rights and opportunities.”

ಬೀದರ್ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಬಸವ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅನುಭವ ಮಂಟಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಗಜ್ಯೋತಿ ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರರ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಪುಷ್ಪನಮನ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿ, ಬಳಿಕ ಶ್ರೀ ಬಸವಲಿಂಗ ಪಟ್ಟದೇವರು ಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿಯವರ ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದ ಪಡೆದು ಪ್ರಜಾಧ್ವನಿ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದೆ.

ಬಸವಾದಿ ಶರಣರ ‘ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಡೆಯಬೇಕು’ ಎಂಬ ತತ್ವವೇ ನನ್ನ ಆದರ್ಶ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ನನ್ನ 5ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಆಡಳಿತ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. pic.twitter.com/Bz1yvzsWPG

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) February 3, 2023

“With a thumping victory in the upcoming assembly polls, Congress will be back at the helm in Karnataka. I will only inaugurate the Anubhava Mantapa in the coming days,” he added.

“It was during my tenure, the action plan for the Anubhava Mantapa and also reserved funds in the budget. We could not start the project as the people did not give a mandate to us (Congress),” Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Addressing the gathering at Basavakalyan, Siddaramaiah hit out at the divisive “Manuwadis” who divided society on the line of castes. “These people (BJP) worship Vivekananda. But Vivekananda had said Manuvad and ‘Purohit Shahi’ was a curse on the country,” said Siddaramaiah.

He added: “Basavanna had dreamt of a caste-free and progressive society, founded on the principle of equality. The preamble to the Constitution also speaks of equality, whereas the BJP believes in ‘Manuvad’.”

Siddaramaiah also said: “At the time of preparing the Constitution, RSS founder KB Hedgewar, second RSS chief MS Golwalkar, and Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar opposed it, saying that it lacks Indianness.”

Shivakumar to lead in South Karnataka

Leading the campaign in the south of the state, Shivakumar started from the Mulbagal Assembly segment in the Kolar district after paying homage to the popular and ancient Ganapati temple in Kudumalai.

He later tweeted, “Worshipped Maha Ganapati’s Saligram statue at Kudumalai near Mulbagal. I prayed that the Praja Dhwani Yatra should go on without any hassle in Kolar district.”

#PrajaDhwaniYatra ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆ ಇಂದು ಮುಳಬಾಗಿಲಿಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಶ್ರೀ ಆಂಜನೇಯ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಹಾಗೂ ಹಜ್ರತ್‌ ಬಾಬಾ ಹೈದರ್‌ ಔಲಿಯಾ ದರ್ಗಾಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ಯಾತ್ರೆ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಗೊಂಡು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟಗಳಿಗೆ ಆದಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸಿಗಲಿ, ಸಕಲರಿಗೆ ಒಳಿತಾಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸಿದೆ. pic.twitter.com/dSHEgIaUb6

— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) February 3, 2023

Shivakumar’s next stop was an ancient Hanuman temple in Mulbagal town. He then went to Hazrat Baba Hyder Aulia Dargah nearby and offered Chadar.

Addressing a public meeting in Mulbagal, Shivakumar said: “The BJP government has failed to live up to the expectations of people and encouraged corruption. The people are hit hard by price rise and rampant corruption in the state.”

He added: “You have seen the JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy-led government and the BJP government in Karnataka. There is no future for the State from the two parties. I want to tell the JD(S) workers that they should not get dejected because the Congress is with you.”

In the next week, Shivakumar will spearhead the yatra in the Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Chitradurga, and Shivamogga districts.

Congress will list out grievances of masses

In the second leg of the Praja Dhwani Yatra, the Congress will hear the grievances of the common people during its tour to the Assembly segments across the state, said the party leaders.

Karnataka Legislative Council Opposition leader BK Hariprasad told South First: “In this yatra, the party will listen to the issues being faced by the people at their respective assembly segments. We will list them out and make an attempt to address them in the party’s manifesto.”

Related: Congress releases manifesto for coastal Karnataka ahead of polls

He added: “The party has already prepared the manifesto. It will release it at the earliest. The party won’t be releasing the district-wise manifesto; instead a state-centric manifesto will be released.”

Hariprasad also told South First: “The second leg of the yatra is not too different from the first one. We got an overwhelming response during our first leg, where we campaigned in 22 districts. This yatra will boost the party cadre at grass roots in the state.”

Parameshwara unhappy with the party high command

In an unexpected turn of events, senior Congress leader and Koratagere MLA G Parameshwara reportedly tendered his resignation from the chairmanship of the manifesto committee on 2 February.

On condition of anonymity, a party leader said, “Parameshwara was unhappy after the party high command did not consider many of his ideas or suggestions for the manifesto. He was upset with the party over this. This is one of the main factors, he was miffed with the high command.”  

Parameshwara also told reporters over his resignation to the manifesto committee: “Everything goes on internally. It is not a matter of disappointment. Everyone is given a responsibility to perform. And all of us function with responsibility. There is no meaning in getting angry.”

He said: “When we have opinions, we convey them to our party leaders and discuss them. I don’t think it should be taken up seriously.”

Hariprasad told South First: “There is no dissent in the party. Parameshwara has not resigned to any committees. These are all rumours created by the media.”