Accused in PSI recruitment scam has no links with BJP: Ashoka

Revenue Minister R Ashoka said that Divya Hagaragi, the accused in the PSI recruitment scam, had no links with the BJP, and former Kalaburagi District Unit president Divya Hagaragi also confirmed that she was not a member of the party.

Ashoka said Tuesday that Divya might have been nominated as a member of the state nursing council during the BJP-led government in Karnataka. However, she had no links with the BJP, he said.

Referring to the suicide case involving contractor Santosh Patil, Ashoka said it was reported in the media that Patil had subcontracted the implementation of Belagavi road works to others. "The police are probing the case and they will uncover the truth," he said. "There is no point in projecting BJP leader K S Eshwarappa as the culprit in the case."

On the BJP's 'mission 150', he said, "We are aiming at 150 seats in the next Assembly polls. It was predicted that the BJP would win 12 to 14 seats in Goa. But we won 20 seats and formed the government. The Congress, which governed Uttar Pradesh in the past, lost its deposits in 90 per cent of the seats. So, the Congress will lose the elections in Karnataka."

Addressing the price rise, Ashoka said the prices of essential commodities had witnessed increases during governments led by various parties and it was quite natural. "In fact, there is stability in essential commodity prices now," he said. "Even the World Bank said that India's GDP growth rate had increased by 11% while China's growth rate was decreasing. The United Nations Development Programme said that India's poverty rate was also decreasing."

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