President of district unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Udaykumar Shetty said on Wednesday that the last nine years of rule by the United Progressive Alliance government had seen an unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities.
He was speaking at a dharna organised by the district unit of the BJP to protest against price rise in front of the Clock Tower here.
Mr. Shetty said that food grains worth Rs. 58,000 crore were rotting every year in the godowns of the country. But the UPA government had taken no steps to use them. The fact was that the UPA government had bowed to the liquor lobby.
Food grains were allowed to rot so they could be sold to liquor distilleries to manufacture beer. Rotten rice was being sold for Rs. 65 per kg to liquor distilleries.
The track record of the UPA government on security issues was poor. The Chinese army had made several incursions into Indian territory in the last 10 years. But the UPA government had failed to prevent these incursions.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made statements only to retract them. Mr. Siddaramaiah earlier assured to provide rice at Re. 1 kg from June. But now Mr. Siddaramaiah was saying that rice at Re. 1 per kg would only be given to below the poverty line (BPL) cardholders that too from July.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that his government would give a thought to bringing Sri Krishna Math/Temple in Udupi under the Muzrai Department, only to retract and say that such a move was not being thought of. “Such statements are creating needless controversies and showed that the government lacked clarity on issues”, Mr. Shetty said.
The former MLA K. Raghupati Bhat said that new Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes should at least try to improve the pathetic condition of national highways in his home State and home district.
He said the condition of the Mangalore-Bangalore highway was bad and the widening work of Surathkal-Kundapur National Highway 66 had stopped.
