The Hindu : Karnataka News : Merit ignored in portfolio allocation: Shettar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Merit ignored in portfolio allocation: Shettar

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, DEC. 27. The President of the State unit of the BJP, Jagadish Shettar, on Monday charged that merit and expertise had been ignored while allocating portfolios to the new Ministers. He said that those who are well known in a particular field have been put in charge of something else. "Basavaraj Horatti, who has been championing the cause of teachers for over 25 years has been given Small Savings and Lotteries and H.C. Mahadevappa, a professional doctor, has been put in charge of Rural Development," he said.

Mr. Shettar alleged that there was no sense of collective responsibility. The Ministers were speaking differently on government policies in public. Citing an example, he said that while the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, announced that Belgaum will get a medical college, the Minister for Higher Education, D. Manjunath, contradicted him. Owing to such differences development works have come to a standstill and the administration has collapsed, he charged.

Mr. Shettar said that though the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, announced that Rs. 900 crores will be earmarked towards waiver of interest on loans, the Cooperation Department, through a government notification dated December 2, has lifted the ban on the initiation of the repayment drive. While the previous Government had stopped the disconnection drive on IP sets, the Dharam Singh-led Government has commenced it, he said.

`Jail bharo'

All these issues will be discussed at a meeting convened by the party on December 30 where elected representatives and party office-bearers will articulate their views. A `jail bharo' programme will be launched in the first week of January to protest against the "inefficiency" of the coalition Government.

On the issue of appointment of parliamentary secretaries by the Government, Mr. Shettar said that the BJP will seek legal recourse if the Government goes ahead with its decision. With the appointment of parliamentary secretaries, who hold a Cabinet rank, the burden on the exchequer will grow, he said.

Kanaka Gopura

About the BJP's stand on the Kanaka Gopura controversy, Mr. Shettar said the party has made its stand very clear; it wanted the two sides to sort out the issue amicably.

Expressing grief over the destruction wrought by tidal waves in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Shettar said the BJP will launch a drive to assist the Tamil Nadu Government in its rescue and rehabilitation effort. He said that the party activists will collect money and material which will be sent to Tamil Nadu.

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