Govt not protecting common man's interests: HDK

JD(S) floor leader in the Legislative Assembly H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday alleged that there was lack of transparency in the functioning of the government, and accused the ruling dispensation of failing to protect the interests of the common man.

Participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly, Kumaraswamy gave specific instances to substantiate his allegations.

He said that in October 2013, in his capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, he had sought information on the export of minerals by various mining companies from the government. However, he did not get any response, following which he sought the information under the RTI. “I received a reply but several pages in the document were missing,” he said.

‘Turning a blind eye’

Kumaraswamy accused the government of turning a blind eye to the irregularities in the revenue department. “Revenue department officials are seeking a share in land when farmers approach them for khata registration,” he charged.

In one instance, when a dalit farmer sought a khata for his four-acre land in K R Puram, officials registered the land in the name of a developer. In another instance, Kumaraswamy said, a panchayat member in Kanakapura had pocketed Rs 50 lakh claiming it had been allotted for developmental work. When an RTI activist tried to expose the scam, he started getting life-threatening calls, Kumaraswamy said.

In his reply, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked Kumaraswamy to submit to relevant documents, if any, for him to take action against the erring officials.