B D Narayankar reports
Bangalore, Apr 13 (PTI) Fighting Nandan Nilekani to extend
his record winning streak in Lok Sabha polls here, senior BJP
leader Ananth Kumar says the former Infosys chief has
committed "hara-kiri" by fighting on a Congress ticket as the
party today symbolises "corruption and scams".
Asserting that Nilekani has committed a mistake by
becoming a Congress candidate from Bangalore South seat here,
Kumar said: "He has committed hara-kiri. Today, he represents
whatever Congress is representing. Since Congress represents
corruption and scams, now he also represents corruption and
scams."
The 54-year-old Kumar, who has been elected for a record
five times from this constituency, also dismissed suggestions
that Nilekani could be at an advantageous position for being a
co-founder and former CEO of Bangalore-based Infosys and for
having served as the Chairman of UIDAI (Unique Identification
Authority of India).
"Congress represents economic crisis and price rise, so
he (Nilekani) is representing economic crisis and price rise.
Today, he represents a weak-kneed government and a weak Prime
Minister (Manmohan Singh) who is unable to take any decision.
"He today represents all weaknesses of Congress. People
also feel that though he had been the Chairman of UIDAI,
enjoying a position of Cabinet rank, he did not say anything
when all the scams were unfolding under this Congress party-
led government.
"When problems like inflation and economic slowdown were
taking place, he was not doing anything and was only keeping
mum. He did not raise his voice at that time," Kumar told PTI.
Other than Kumar and Nilekani, more than 20 other
candidates are in the fray in this constituency for the Lok
Sabha polls, voting for which is to be held on April 17. These
include Aam Aadmi Party's Nina Nayak, Ruth Manorama from Janta
Dal (Secular) and 12 Independents, among others.
Kumar is a member of BJP's Parliamentary Board and also a
National General Secretary of the party.
Asked whether Nilekani was in an advantageous position
because of Bangalore being an IT hub and he being a former
corporate leader, Kumar said: "People recognise him here as a
Congress candidate and not as anything other than that.
"He is not a candidate of IT, neither is he a candidate
of the corporate world. For people at large, he is a Congress
candidate with all the baggage and legacy of that party, such
as price rise, economic crisis, corruption, scams, insecurity
at the borders, etc. At the first given opportunity, people
want to remove this party from the Centre and therefore he
(Nilekani) is at a great disadvantage."
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