GULBARGA: The State unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday accused the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition Government in the State of inducting persons with criminal antecedents and those facing chargesheets on criminal charges in the Cabinet.

The CPI (M) demanded that Ministers having criminal backgrounds and facing chargesheets of criminal charges be dropped.

State secretariat member of CPI (M) Maruti Manpade told presspersons here that more than two members in the Kumaraswamy Cabinet were facing criminal charges in different courts. He reiterated the party's demand for a thorough probe under the supervision of the Karnataka High Court into the alleged corruption charge made by BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Home Minister M.P. Prakash and Forest Minister C. Chennigappa.

The decision of the Government to conduct a judicial inquiry would not help in bringing out the truth.

Mr. Manpade said the rift between the two coalition partners was widening and there was lack of coordination.

The Government had made a record of sorts in effecting one of the largest transfer of officials of different departments this year and there was competition between the Janata Dal (S) and BJP Ministers in transferring officials "for other considerations".

He said despite claims of the Government about the sound financial situation of the State, the Government in real terms was finding problems in allocating funds for development works and had resorted to taking loans from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

While the Asian Development Bank was providing a loan of Rs. 1,800 crore for infrastructure development programmes in urban areas, the World Bank had agreed to provide Rs. 600 crore for taking up development activities in 1,343 gram panchayats in the taluks identified by the High Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances as most backward taluks.

Mr. Manpade said the loan burden on the State from the external financial agencies amounted to more than Rs. 67,000 crore and every year, 21 per cent of the plan funds of the State went as interest on these external loans.

The State, which was in a "debt trap", was being affected by the decision of the Government to go in for fresh loans. If the financial situation of the State was good, there was no need for the Government to go in for fresh loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

He condemned the failure of the Social Welfare Minister Balachandra Jharkihole from keeping his promise to visit the Chitta K village in Basavakalyan taluk in Bidar district, where Dalits were attacked in May this year, to hold discussions with the affected families.

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