The Hindu : Karnataka News : BJP to launch protest against State Government

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Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

BJP to launch protest against State Government

Special Correspondent

To highlight the ‘failure of the administration’ under the President’s Rule

Making a point: Former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa addressing a press conference at Yadgir in Gulbarga district on Tuesday.

YADGIR (GULBARGA DIST.): Former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Tuesday threatened to launch sustained agitation against the State Government shortly to highlight the “failure of the administration” under the President’s Rule to implement the programmes announced in the current year’s budget and for its “failure” to show urgency in taking up development work.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Yediyurappa said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would launch an agitation simultaneously from Hubli and Chitradurga within a week or ten days with a public rally. He criticised Governor Rameshwar Thakur for showing “utter disregard” for all the welfare measures announced by the previous government.

He slammed the administration under the President’s Rule for its “failure” to distribute below poverty line (BPL) cards to 12.5 lakh people identified by the previous government and delaying the implementation of the “Sandhya Suraksha” programme of providing monthly pension of Rs. 400 to 7.5 lakh people. The previous Government had allocated Rs. 250 crore for this purpose and issued an order in July last.

Mr. Yediyurappa said according to the official information available with him, the Government had extended the pension under the “Sandhya Suraksha” programme only to 1.57 lakh people and had spent only Rs 3.61 lakh till the end of December last year. “I have my doubts about these figures since if the Government had extended pension to 1.57 lakh people, then it should have spent Rs. 6 crore a month, where as the actual expenditure was only Rs. 3.61 lakh.”

Referring to the claims of the Congress leaders coming in defence of the Governor in taking up development work, Mr. Yediyurappa said if all the development programmes were being implemented as planned, “what prevented the Governor to accede to the demand of the BJP to come out with a White Paper on the financial and physical progress of development work under the President’s Rule”.

Criticising the Governor for nominating Dr. Rajyalakshmi, an MLC from Andhra Pradesh, to the Syndicate of the Karnataka State Women’s University, Mr. Yediyurappa demanded the Governor cancel the nomination within 24 hours.

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