Former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, who recently joined the BJP, said the State government under the Congress was the “worst in the last 55 years” and that it lacked vision. He, who was with the Congress for almost four decades, said: “I have seen many Chief Ministers from the time of K.C. Reddy to Kengal Hanumanthaiah and witnessed the administrative acumen of Diwans like Arcot Ramaswamy. But, by far, this is the worst government I have seen.” He was on a campaign tour for the BJP in bypoll-bound Nanjangud.
Mr. Krishna went on to say that government and governance was a full-time job and not which functions from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., hinting that the present government worked part-time.
Singing praises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: “In contrast, look at the style of Mr. Modi, who can be found in the south block past midnight despite being on fast for nine days. Under Mr. Modi, India was sure to find a place among nations such as U.S., Russia and China in the next 10 years. I want to strengthen his hands,” he added.
On why he thought the present government lacked vision, Mr. Krishna referred to his tenure as the Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004 and said despite competition from Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka had emerged as the silicon hub of India and that was his achievement.
Mr. Krishna said the Congress was nowhere in the national scene and one had to literally search for it.
