Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah with JD(S) MLA K.M. Shivalinge Gowda at a gathering after unveiling the statue of Sangolli Rayanna at Guttinakere in Arsikere taluk.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

JD(S) leaders of Arasikere taluk in Hassan district have alleged that MLA K.M. Shivalinge Gowda used the unveiling of the Sangolli Rayanna statue at Guttinakere village held on Sunday to further his political mileage.

The bronze statue had been installed with the support of many leaders from different political parties. However, they were not invited to the programme and Mr. Gowda used Sangolli Rayanna for his politics, alleged Banavara Ashok of the JD(S), who is expected to contest for the Arasikere constituency, in a press conference in Hassan on Monday.

He said BJP minister MTB Nagaraj had contributed ₹2 lakh for the statue. Besides, he too had personally announced ₹1 lakh, Mr. Ashok said. However, the organisers did not invite any leaders from other parties for the event.

Gowda’s jump to Congress

Further, he said the JD(S) had taken care of Shivalinge Gowda very well for the last 15 years. There was no reason for him to quit the party. “He is projecting as if the JD(S) leaders threw him out. He could win three elections because of JD(S) leaders and workers. Now, he has forgotten all that. If he could deceive Deve Gowda, one day he will deceive Siddaramaiah too,” Mr. Ashok said.

Mr. Gowda is all set to join the Congress. He shared a dais with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the unveiling of the Sangolli Rayanna statue at Guttinakere in Arasikere taluk on Monday.