The Congress government in the State is set to face the political heat as the principal Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party, is preparing to launch a Statewide campaign against its alleged failures on various fronts, including the episode of police personnel taking to streets.
The BJP has convened a meeting of its State legislature party here on Tuesday to discuss various issues, including that of finalising the outlines of the proposed campaign.
Upbeat The BJP, which is upbeat after the Lok Sabha polls because it managed to recover from the disastrous defeat in the 2013 Assembly polls, is of the opinion that the Congress government has provided enough “ammunition” to it to go before the people.
Soon after the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was planning to launch a Statewide protest against the government on issues such as its alleged failure to provide proper compensation to farmers who lost their crops in the recent hailstorm, improper handling of procurement of toor, drinking water shortage and failure to effectively implement drought relief works, besides the concerns over law and order situation.
Public spat
However, the recent public spat between Additional Director-General of Police P. Ravindranath and Bangalore city Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar , following a complaint accusing the former of taking photographs of a woman in a coffee shop here, has created a “conducive” environment for the BJP to launch the campaign.
The party set the tone for its proposed campaign by meeting Governor H.R. Bhardwaj and seeking a direction to the Chief Minister to sack Home Minister K.J. George.
Tax on lavish weddings
The recent government proposal to levy tax on lavish weddings has not gone down well politically though everybody accepts the need to curb the ugly display of wealth in the name of marriages. The BJP is set to project this as a contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of “minimum government and maximum governance” by terming this a “maximum government and minimum governance”. The BJP is also trying to use the campaign to build a tempo ahead of the legislature session slated for June last week.
The BJP legislature party is also expected to clear the name of the former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming election to the Legislative Council from the Assembly constituency.
The legislature party meeting will be followed by a meeting of prominent leaders to introspect the Lok Sabha election results.
