A section of Congress leaders lashed at BJP Ministers on Sunday for their “dismal performance” in the last four years and alleged that some of them had siphoned off funds earmarked for development schemes.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah alleged that Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R. Ashok had built a bungalow by spending Rs. 50 crore at Padmanabhanagar here and that he was one of the 15 Ministers who had “looted” public funds.
Addressing the ‘Congressnondige banni, badalavani thanni’ programme, he alleged that the Home Minister had encroached upon a tank area and illegally constructed the house.”
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He alleged that the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa owned assets worth Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000 crore. Ministers B.N. Bache Gowda, Shobha Karandlaje and Murugesh Nirani and the former Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu also plundered the State exchequer, he alleged.
BJP MLAs such as H. Halappa, Krishnaiah Setty, Krishna Palemar, Ramachandra Gowda, C.C. Patil and Laxman Savadi were embroiled in one or the other controversy, Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
The scam-hit BJP government had failed to ensure proper power supply, drinking water supply, good roads, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, and added that it had also failed to provide ration cards and housing facility to below the poverty line families.
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Recalling Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s statement in Mangalore recently that the Centre had provided Rs. 80,000 crore to the State in the last four years under the Centrally sponsored schemes, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G. Parameshwara alleged that the government had misappropriated huge sums of money.
The government should come out with details of how the amount was spent, he said. He said the Janata Dal (Secular) would not win more than 30 seats in the coming Assembly elections.
Congress leader B.L. Shankar hit out at Mr. Ashok for the rising crime rate in Bangalore.
Plea
Bangalore district Congress unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA, and Ramalinga Reddy, MLA, urged Dr. Parameshwara and Mr. Siddaramaiah to issue ticket to only those who were loyal to the party to contest the Assembly elections.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “B. Gurappa Naidu, KPCC secretary, is the most likely candidate” of the party from Padmanabhanagar constituency.
The former Ministers B.K. Chandrashekar, H.M. Revanna and Mr. Naidu were present.