BJP writes to governor to ‘wake up slumbering Cong’

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, May 8, 2014: Senior BJP leaders in Karnataka, including state president Prahlad Joshi and former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, submitted a memorandum to Governor H R Bhardwaj on Wednesday, calling for the Congress government to be galvanised into action in the light of alleged “gross negligence of governance and failures on all fronts”.

The BJP, in its memorandum, accused the state government of poor handling of drinking water supply, power supply and the drought situation. It also highlighted the strained relations between the government and the state bureaucracy and alleged high handedness of some ministers.

The BJP asked the governor to direct the CM Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to take the opposition into confidence and call for an all party meeting “to discuss the drinking water crisis and measures to address the drought situation on a war footing”.

The BJP demanded that the governor “wake up Siddaramaiah and his slumbering cabinet colleagues from their deep slumber to combat the drought situation in the state with all seriousness”.

Though the state water resources minister had himself admitted that as many as 1,100 villages in the state were facing a shortage of drinking water on account of the dry summer this year, the state government had not initiated any measures to counter the problem, the BJP said, blaming the government’s “laid back attitude” for the crisis.

“The state government has ceased to function after the election. Many ministers are still in a holiday mood when they should be galvanising the state machinery,” the BJP said. The party said that by referring to the election code of conduct as the reason for the slowdown in government functioning, the CM was making lame excuses.

The BJP also attacked the government for increasing bus fares in Bangalore and the state by 15 per cent and eight to 10 per cent respectively after polling for Lok Sabha elections in the state concluded. The Congress also failed to effectively manage supply of power in the state, the BJP stated.

The BJP leaders also highlighted an expenditure of Rs 2.5 crore incurred by Public Works Department minister H C Mahadevappa for renovation of his official bungalow and the alleged manhandling of a journalist by fisheries minister Abhaychandra Jain.

The BJP also demanded the governor’s intervention in ordering a roll-back of a hike in toll fees on NHAI’s expressway to Bangalore airport over which taxi and truck drivers have been protesting over the past few days and have threatened a strike on May 9.