Bengaluru, 15 Sept

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on International Democracy Day that the constitutional guarantee of one-person one-vote was under threat, while his Deputy DK Shivakumar said that the ballot was stronger than a bullet. 

“A conspiracy to weaken the Constitution is underway, and it must be ensured that this does not happen,” Siddaramaiah said in Vidhana Soudha on Monday. “Efforts to steal votes, silence dissent, weaken institutions, centralise authority, and impose regressive ideologies are growing. These are not isolated acts; they are systemic attempts to undo the spirit of our democracy.” 

“Vote theft is not just electoral malpractice - it is the theft of dignity, equality, and citizenship itself,” he added. 

Siddaramaiah recalled Dr BR Ambedkar’s principle that without social and economic equality, political equality is rendered meaningless. 

“That’s why our government pursues guarantees,” he added. 

While Siddaramaiah traced the roots of democracy to Basavanna’s Anubhava Mantapa and Buddha’s teachings, Shivakumar, in his speech, brought up the Mahabharata. 

“Once Arjuna expresses his helplessness to Lord Krishna when he was being attacked by the enemies. To which, Krishna says that there would always be someone to protect you. Similarly, it is the voting right that will protect you in a democracy,” he said.

“The ballot is stronger than a bullet. The monarchy is sitting at home today, and the elected representatives are governing. That is the power of the ballot. It is this voting power that gave rise to leaders like Siddaramaiah and myself,” he added.

He added that the ‘My Vote My Right’ campaign has been designed to create awareness about democratic values and develop leadership skills among youth and students.

MEKEDATU PROJECT 

Separately, Siddaramaiah said he didn’t understand Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the Mekedatu project. 

The State was supposed to provide 98 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu,” he said in a statement. “But up to now, 221 TMC of water has flowed to Tamil Nadu.” 

Saying that the rains had been good over the past two years, he said that there won’t be any power shortage this year. 

“There won't be any dispute between us and Tamil Nadu regarding water. Tamil Nadu and the Central government should not create trouble to implement the Mekedatu project,” he warned.