Need for law barring multiple contests by legislators: B.P. Yatnal
There should be a law that bars legislators from leaving their job midway to fight polls, MLA and BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said in Vijayapura on Friday.
He was speaking after participating in the yoga day celebrations held by the district administration. He was referring to the claim by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar that he would fight the election from Channapatna Assembly seat that was vacated by H.D. Kumaraswamy post his Lok Sabha victory.
“It means that Mr. Shivakumar is going to leave his safe seat for his brother D.K. Suresh, who has lost from Bengaluru rural. That is meaningless,” he said.
“My party asked me to fight the Lok Sabha polls from Belagavi or Bagalkot. I refused as I am an MLA already. Mine was a principled decision. But we should not go by that. We should have a law in place that outlaws multiple contests for incumbent legislators, he said. “I know that anyone can contest from anywhere in a democratic system. But the Election Commission should modify some laws in the matter to clear things up. An MLA should not be allowed to contest in byelections even if he is a Minister,” Mr. Yatnal said.
He said that he was unhappy with the leadership style of B.Y. Vijayendra, State BJP unit president, and that he had sought change. “I have asked my party to make me the State unit president.”
Leaders like MLC N. Ravikumar are trying to patch it up. The party offered to make me national general secretary. But I asked them to make Mr. Vijayendra the national general secretary instead, and make me the Sate president,” he said.
Mr. Yatnal criticised the State government for increasing the fuel price. “The State government is bankrupt. It is increasing prices to keep the guarantee schemes alive. Congress Ministers and MLAs are saying that they are not getting grants for development,” he said.
He alleged that some Congress leaders were involved in large-scale irregularities regarding government lands. He also alleged that he would expose the corruption by Minister Shivanand Patil.
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