CHANNAPATNA: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy lauched a direct attack on Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, accusing him of destroying the lives of Ganga Matsya community members, who once led a peaceful life by fishing in lakes.
While campaigning for NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy at Channapatna’s Karekoppa village on Thursday, Kumaraswamy stated, “The Ganga Matsya community depended on lakes for their livelihood, with fishing as their primary source of income. The lakes were like their mother. However, fishing rights in these lakes were auctioned off and handed over to powerful entities, leaving the Ganga Matsya people, who had relied on the lakes for generations, out on the streets”, he expressed with frustration.
Kumaraswamy assured that steps would be taken to include the Ganga Matsya community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. “This community deserves political representation,” he said, citing D T Jayakumar’s previous tenure as a minister from his party. However, Kumaraswamy acknowledged that opportunities for the community have recently diminished, pledging to make sincere efforts to include them in the ST category.
This development comes ahead of the upcoming bypolls in Channapatna, scheduled for November 13, where NDA candidate, Nikhil Kumaraswamy is in electoral fray against Congress candidate CP Yogeshwara, who had recently jumped ship to the Congress from BJP. (ANI)