‘I faced most harassment from Siddaramaiah in Mysuru region; seven FIRs have been filed against me’

Mysuru: Former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha made a startling revelation this morning and said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was a casteist and had opposed the installation of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda’s statue in Mysuru.

“Siddaramaiah is continuously obstructing the installation of Kempegowda’s statue in Mysuru. I have been working on this for two years and the statue, carved at a cost of Rs. 25 lakh, has not been allowed to be installed due to Siddaramaiah’s Government for the past one-and-a-half-years. I have been trying to install Kempegowda’s statue in front of Kalamandira, Mysuru,” he told reporters in front of his residence this morning.

“I entered politics invoking PM Narendra Modi’s name. Do not question my loyalty and commitment. I will remain in the BJP till the end. Prathap Simha has no compulsion to join Congress. My father was in Jan Sangh and I carry forward that ideological commitment to the BJP. Ask those who offered me a ticket from Congress — if I had wanted to join, I would have done so during the election period. There is no urgency to join now,” he said.

“I am the only politician from the old Mysuru region who has faced the most relentless harassment from Siddaramaiah. Two cases were filed against me during the Varuna election campaign and after Siddaramaiah’s Government came into power, five cases were filed against me in just three months. No leader has had five FIRs filed against them so quickly. Siddaramaiah is anti-Hindu and is a casteist,” Prathap Simha said.