There was enough fodder for the Opposition to embarrass Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. The formation of two high-level panels, headed by All-India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh, “to implement the promises made in the Congress manifesto”, was a case in point.
Though Congress leaders strongly defended the plan and objected to a discussion on it, “as the committee had nothing to do with the budget”, BJP leader Jagadish Shettar said the Opposition has every right to know the rationale behind it, as this system was not evident in any other State.
Joining in, B.S. Yeddyurappa of the Karnataka Janata Paksha said the debate on the issue was needed as Mr. Siddaramaiah had squarely blamed the BJP government for the present financial position of the State. Leader of the Opposition H.D. Kumaraswamy and JD(S) member H.D. Revanna also wanted a discussion, especially when Congress members, including Minister for Higher Education R.V. Deshpande, objected to it.
