Udupi: Congress led State Government Failed to Solve Power Crisis – Eshwarappa

Udupi: The incompetency of the Congress led state government in failing to solve the power crisis in the state has hurt the people badly, said Eshwarappa, former deputy Chief Minister and opposition leader of the Karnataka Legislative Council. He was speaking at the Raitha Chaitanya Yathra organized to boost confidence in farmers over the failure of the state government in addressing their problems by the district BJP at Ambalpady here, on September 11.

The government has said that it will not provide electricity for Ganeshoshtava celebrations which is an effort by the Congress government to hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. The government is pointing the finger on the Central government for the power crisis but at the same time, the energy minister gives a statement that 200 MW units of power is supplied by central government to meet the power crisis. The Congress government should provide electricity for the Ganeshotsava celebrations, else every effort will be made to disrupt the functioning of the government.

“CM Siddaramaiah during the Lok Sabha polls said that PM Narendra Modi was communal and a mass murderer which led to the defeat of the Congress in LS polls. More than 440 farmers have lost their lives by committing suicide but the government has not addressed the issues of farmers. 12 farmers have lost their lives in Mysore district but the Minister in-charge of that district has not yet visited the deceased farmers’ families. The BJP government headed by BS Yeddyurappa had formulated a policy of releasing funds of Rs 1000 for the cremation of the deceased farmers. The cheques released by CM Siddaramaiah’s government for the cremation of the deceased farmers were returned which is a disgrace.”

“CM Siddaramaiah is busy in the BBMP mayor elections and he has no time to visit the farmers. The district in-charge ministers should visit the families of the deceased farmers and drought affected areas. The state government has received a grant of Rs 1952 crore of which Rs 1400 crore have been utilized while Rs 452 crore is yet to be utilized. The Chief Minister’s and the cabinet minister’s children are engaged in sand mining but the government is silent on the issue. People have lost faith in the government because it has failed to give justice to farmers, women and the people of the state.”

“Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge’s eyes are on CM’s seat. He is roaming around the Congress High Command for the CM’s post,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP state president Pralhad Joshi said that Karnataka is leading in the country in the number of farmers committing suicide. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is visiting Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states and interacting with the farmers, while it seems that he has forgotten Karnataka. The Congress, which ruled our country for 60 years, has even failed to supply drinking water to the people. The people of our country are still drinking water, containing fluoride.

He also said that D K Shivkumar pleased the high command and snatched away the energy department but he has failed to initiate steps to ensure continuous supply of electricity. The state is receiving ample supply of coal but the production of power does not meet the requirement of the state. The state government has failed to ensure building a line corridor to purchase power units from other states. The central government has released Rs 60 crores to ensure farmers get round the clock power supply.

“The Congress government criticizes PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharath Mission. The country had achieved 8% GDP during NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee while the GDP today is 7%. The GST bill will ensure efficient economic flow but Congress is determined to sideline the bill. The Congress government is an anti-development government,” he added.

Shobha Karandlaje, MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru LS constituency, said that more than 440 farmers have committed suicide in our state but the state government has released relief only to the families of 86 farmers. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Anna Bhagya scheme aiming at providing 30 kg rice but today only 4 kg of rice is being supplied to BPL card holders. The rice provided by the Karnataka government is utilized for ‘Amma Idli’ which is a great conspiracy. The BJP government in the past used to supply electricity for 20-22 hours but Congress government is finding it hard to supply electricity even for 2 hours, she added.

Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary, Raghuati Bhat and Lalaji R Mendon, Araga Jnanendra also spoke on the occasion.

BJP leaders Thejaswini Gowda, Thingale Vikramarjuna Hegde, Laxminarayana, Uday Kumar Shetty, Savitha Shivanand Kotian, Sukumar Shetty, Raghavendra Kini, Somanna, Kumarswami, Shivaprasad, Shyamala Kundar and others were present at the yathra.