Cong, BSY's son Vijayendra engage in verbal duel over his alleged interference in state admin

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Congress and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra were locked in a wordy duel on Wednesday as the opposition party accused him of interfering in the state administration and the latter asking it not to keep a watch on his activities with stained glasses.

Congress took exception to Vijayendra allegedly holding a meeting with the government medical officers and sought to know who gave him the power for such an interaction though he did not hold any Constitutional position. Hitting back, Vijayendra said he was also the state BJP Vice President and asked the opposition party to give constructive suggestions to the government for the development of the state.

“You are neither the Chief Minister nor Minister or MP nor MLA or not even a gram panchayat member. Despite not holding any constitutional position, why did you hold a meeting with the government medical officers? Who gave you that power? This act of brokerage by interfering in the administrative machinery has caused damage to the sanctity of the democracy,” Congress tweeted.

The principal opposition party shared a picture of Vijayendra posing with the government medical officers. Strongly reacting to this, Vijayendra in a tweet said he was not the culture of slavery where a person holding a country’s top position of the Prime Minister was summoned to someone’s house during the UPA rule. More than being the member of Yediyurappa’s family, he was the responsible vice-president of the ruling BJP in the state, he pointed out.

“It is my duty to respond to all those who come to me with respect and belief. Opposition instead of keeping a watch on my activities with stained glasses should give constructive suggestions to the government for the development of the state. That is the true democratic function of a political party,” he said in another tweet.

Congress has been accusing Vijayendra of interference in the administration ever since BJP came to power last year, a charge rejected by Yediyurappa. Coming to Vijayendra’s defence, state Health Minister B Sriramulu said he was not interfering in the functioning of any department.

“There is nothing wrong with medical officers meeting Vijayendra, who is also holding a responsible party post… they (doctors) might have shared their concerns with him and through him bring it to the notice of the Chief Minister,” he added.

The members of the Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) are holding an agitation demanding pay parity with their counterparts in the Medical Education Department or pay revision as per the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) scale.

The government on Tuesday had asked medical officers to withdraw agitation, assuring that it would fulfil their demand.