Karnataka   

BJP strong in State: Yeddyurappa

Sindhanur: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as a strong political party in the State and hopes that it will win at least 24 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking at an election rally in Sindhanur town, coming under the Koppal Lok Sabha constituency, here on Thursday, he said that many senior Congress leaders, including D.B. Chandre Gowda, H.C. Srikantaiah and L.R. Shivarame Gowda, had joined the BJP indicating their support for the party’s prime ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani. It was nothing but a good sign for the party, he said.

Criticising the United Progressive Alliance Government, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that the Centre had discriminated against the State. It did not sanction funds according to the development plans proposed by the State. Both the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and the former Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy had made false promises with regard to implementing the Munirabad-Mahbubnagar railway line. Later, none of the Congress MPs had tried to complete the project, he alleged.

He said that the Centre had failed to release the necessary grants to begin work on the railway line even though the State Government had agreed to provide 50 per cent of the projected cost. The Centre had also maintained silence with regard to releasing funds for any of the projects taken up by the State Government, he said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said that during its rule in the State, the BJP had presented budgets where it had given importance to the development of agriculture and other activities mainly to provide financial assistance to the poor. It was providing free power supply to about 18 lakh irrigation pumpsets even as the State was facing power shortage. It decided to issue ration cards to about 25 lakh families living below the poverty line and had successfully implemented the Bhagyalakshmi scheme, he claimed.

He said that the people were aware that the BJP was the only party that had always supported secularism and thought of the integrated development in the country. But the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were spreading hatred and communal feelings among the people to achieve political mileage, he claimed.

Later, the Chief Minister addressed election rallies in Maski and Kurdi in Raichur Lok Sabha constituency and Kushtagi and Gangavathi in Koppal Lok Sabha constituency.

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