Congress MLAs will bring down govt in Karnataka, says BJP's R Ashoka

Bengaluru: The Congress party's insistence on continuing with its flagship guarantee schemes could result in the state government being toppled by discontented MLAs within the party, upset with the lack of funds for their respective constituencies, warned Leader of Opposition R Ashoka in Bengaluru on Wednesday

Although leaders of the Congress have not officially called for discontinuing or reduction of allocation towards guarantee schemes, there have been rumblings of discontent among a section of MLAs about the corpus of funds allocated towards their implementation. However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and those in the cabinet close to him such as Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, have defended the schemes, while Deputy CM D K Shivakumar has made it clear that the schemes would not only continue, but do so without any changes being made to their implementation. 

"We (the opposition) have been saying, from day one, that these guarantee schemes are 'unwieldly'. When they announced these schemes, they were thinking of winning elections, and did not think of mobilising adequate resources to fund them. Now, they are caught in a web of confusion," said Ashoka, claiming that the implementation of guarantee schemes had pushed Karnataka to the brink of bankruptcy. 

Charging the Congress with having announced the schemes without considering their scope, and the possible number of beneficiaries, Ashoka added, "The state's fiscal position is such that, irrespective of which party comes to power, it has to borrow Rs 1 lakh crore annually to run the show." 

The BJP leader opined that the development of Bengaluru was being neglected, with allocation of funds for the city witnessing a drastic reduction. Ashoka added that, funds for repair and modernising stormwater drains, flyovers, roads, pavements, et al, were also being diverted. 

Ashoka, meanwhile, said that he had no qualms about joining disgruntled BJP leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal on his 'padayatra' from Koodalasangama to Ballari, if the party's central leadership gave its nod. The padayatra is aimed at protesting the multi-crore scam reported in the ST development corporations. 

Admitting that there were differences in the party, Ashoka said, "I am also going to New Delhi, and I will brief the party leaders about what is happening in the state."

'Congress a divided house' 

Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra took to social media site 'X' to call out the Congress government's failures. Underscoring the Congress's failure to fulfil its commitments, including the 'bitti bhagyas (guarantee schemes)', Vijayendra said, "The Congress is prompting its own ministers to criticise the guarantee schemes. The electorate will not be surprised if Congress stops these guarantees completely." 

Pointing to the scams that had erupted under the Congress in the state, Vijayendra said that the party was a 'divided house', with the CM, and Karnataka leaders, and the party's high command pulling in different directions.