Rahul Gandhi likely to visit coastal districts of Karnataka on March 20, 21

Member of Legislative Council Ivan D'Souza said that AICC president Rahul Gandhi will tour the coastal districts on March 20 and 21.

Briefing reporters here on Saturday, he said that after touring Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka, the AICC president will tour the coastal districts.

"The BJP leaders are frustrated and well aware that the BJP will not come to power in Karnataka in the upcoming Assembly elections. Hence, they are engaged in hate politics by raising irrelevant issues and making false allegations against the Congress-led state government," said D'Souza.

He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of stooping to a low level by terming the state government "10% commission sarkar" and "Seedha Rupaiyya Sarkar" (a government that runs on money). "Modi made the statement when former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had been to jail on the charges of corruption, was sharing the stage with him. The Modi-government that speaks so much against corruption has failed to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament," he said.

Ivan D'Souza also accused the BJP of instigating disturbances in the state. The BJP should introspect on the law and order situation in Karnataka when the BJP had been in power. The BJP leaders should also clarify on the purpose of Jana Suraksha Yathre-Mangaluru Chalo rally, he demanded.

The MLC said that the Congress has tweeted 10 questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issues of reduction in export, loan waiver, failure to announce support price to groundnut growers of Karnataka, step motherly attitude towards distributing grants to take up drought relief works and reduction in farm produce in the country.

Ivan D'Souza expressed displeasure at the negligence of the BJP Parliamentarians in Karnataka towards protecting the interest of arecanut growers. He demanded that the state government set up a board for arecanut as recommended by the committee headed by vice chancellor of University of Horticultural Sciences D L Maheshwar. The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Limited (CAMPCO) was functioning like an independent trader and claimed that it was not going to help farmers growing arecanut, he pointed out.

D'Souza said that the statement made by Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2017 that consumption of supari would lead to oral squamous cancer has affected the price of arecanut in the domestic market.

He said that a series of protests will be organised against the Union government, urging help for areca growers. Slash in the price of arecanut will affect the economy of Karnataka, he felt.