Polls will be a fight between development and lies: Patra

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra dared the AICC chief to answer pertinent questions regarding the pressing issues in Karnataka.

Briefing reporters at the district BJP office here on Thursday, Sambit quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed the BJP candidates through NaMo mobile application on Thursday morning that the agendas of the BJP-led Central Government was ‘development’, ‘fast phase development’ and ‘overall development’. But, the Karnataka government has been sticking to the agenda of ‘lies’, ‘lies’ and ‘more lies’. In the upcoming Assembly elections, the fight will be between development and lies, he said.

Sambit Patra further dared AICC president Rahul Gandhi to answer a set of questions on the state government’s performance. The AICC chief should answer these questions during his Karnataka tour, he said.

He sought to know why the AICC chief is not speaking about the suicide of 3,718 farmers in Karnataka over a span of four-and-a-half years in the regime of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He said even the misappropriation of funds in ‘Pashu Bhagya’ scheme of the state government, the irrigation projects promised in the election manifesto of Congress party in 2013 Assembly elections and the funds of about Rs 5,476 crore sanctioned by the Central Government to the state government towards the irrigation facilities in 160 severely hit drought-hit government needs to be probed. He sought to know why the funds of Rs 50,000 crore were not utilised towards irrigation programmes in Krishna basin and what alternative measures have been taken for Hebbal steel flyover project. He said an explanation needs to be given about why the Sakala grievance redressal system was done away with.