Karnataka - Bangalore   

BJP promises free power to farmers

BANGALORE: The Bharatiya Janata Party State unit on Thursday promised that it would provide free power supply to irrigation pumpsets of farmers if it was voted to power.

It also assured farmers of ensuring availability of farm loans, including from nationalised banks, at an interest rate of 4 per cent.

Announcing this at a press conference in Bangalore, the former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, said these assurances would be implemented within 24 hours after the BJP came to power.

He said the promise is to provide free power supply to irrigation pumpsets with a capacity of up to 10 horse power.

He said such a step was a must to bail out farmers who were in distress.

He said that free power supply to farmers would not be a burden on the State Exchequer as the losses could be made good by reducing the energy losses.

When reminded that it was the National Democratic Alliance Government headed by A.B. Vajpayee that had made a strong case against power subsidies, Mr. Yeddyurappa said the situation in Karnataka was different.

Meanwhile, the BJP has decided to stage protests in all the Assembly constituencies on January 21 against the alleged delay in the implementation of budgetary schemes as well as welfare programmes.

He alleged that the implementation of the budgetary schemes and welfare measures had slackened ever since the President’s Rule was imposed in the State.

The party would hold its Janajagruthi campaign against the “political betrayal” by the Janata Dal (Secular) in Belgaum and Uttara Kannada districts from January 22 to January 25.

BJP State unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda said the party would take out a delegation of senior leaders to Delhi within a week to meet Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to convince him about the dire need to give priority to Kannadigas in railway recruitment.

The former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, has threatened to launch a protest if the Railway Ministry did not take steps to provide priority to Kannadigas while filling vacancies in Karnataka.

Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Yeddyurappa demanded that Governor Rameshwar Thakur write to the Union Government seeking rectification of the “injustice” done to Kannadigas in the railway recruitments.

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