BJP to protest ‘poor’ performance of Kumaraswamy govt

Armed with expenditure data, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa launched a scathing attack Saturday on the HD Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition for “poor” performance and vowed to raise it in the upcoming winter session of legislature in Belagavi.

“The chief minister has spent more than half his time in a private hotel and temples. I’m surprised by the Congress’ tolerance of this non-performing government and the arrogant chief minister,” Yeddyurappa told a news conference here.

“I’ve been demanding for the past two months a white paper on the state’s finances, but the CM did not take it seriously. As leader of the opposition, I’ve collected data from April 1 till the end of October,” he said.

“The total budget of Karnataka is Rs 1.87 lakh crore, of which progress is just 39% or Rs 73,440 crore. Last year, in the same period, progress was 42.40%,” Yeddyurappa said.

“The minor irrigation department has recorded a progress of 29%, Backward Classes Welfare stands at 26%, Social Welfare 24%, Public Works 24%, Tribal Welfare 17% and Revenue 15%,” he said.

The BJP leader also gave out data on the progress achieved by government departments under the Special Development Plan (SDP), Scheduled Castes sub-plan (SCP), Tribal sub-plan (TSP) and externally-funded projects. Apparently, the Department of Women and Child Development has achieved 0% progress under the SDP whereas the Department of Commerce and Industries is yet to open its account under the SCP.

“I dare the chief minister to clarify if these figures are inaccurate,” Yeddyurappa said.

“Congress legislators are saying the government was yet to take off. For the past eight months, MLAs have not received even Rs 10 against the Rs 2 crore they are supposed to get to take up development works in their constituencies,” he said.

The BJP has convened a meeting of all its legislators and MPs on November 29 to come out with a plan to continue our protest against the Congress-JD(S) coalition, Yeddyurappa said.

The saffron party has already planned a mega protest by gathering over one lakh farmers at Belagavi on December 10 when the winter session starts.

“Kumaraswamy doesn’t trust anybody. He asks people in North Karnataka why he should work for them when they didn’t vote for him. He insults media by announcing he won’t hold press conferences. He insults cane farmers by calling them goons and disgraces women by asking a woman farmer where she was sleeping the past four years,” Yeddyurappa thundered.