Belagavi: Caught in a tussle with his rival group within the Congress party, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has lost control over all government departments, claimed former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa adding that the feud was taking a toll of governance.
“People have lost confidence in Siddaramaiah's Tughlak darbar in the state,” he said at a press conference in Vijayapura. He opposed the claims of Mr Siddaramaiah that Anna Bhagya, a subsidized rice scheme was sponsored by the state government and said the Centre buys rice for the same scheme at Rs 28 per kilogram and gives it to Karnataka at Rs 3 per kg.
“The Centre supplies a total 2 lakh metric tonnes of rice to the state against the requirement of 2.7 lakh metric tonnes. It means the state government distributes only 7 lakh metric tonnes to the poor under Anna Bhayga from its godowns while the major share of rice distributed under the scheme flows from the Centre. It unfortunate that the CM is unfairly taking credit for implementing this scheme,” he added.
The BJP national vice president claimed the CM had failed to get a single borewell sunk under the Ganga Kalyan project for Scheduled Caste communities though he claims he heads an Ahinda government. Nor has he taken measures to spend funds set aside for the welfare of Dalits in his budget.
In the last two years of his term, the CM has not even implemented one Suvarna Gram Yojana, he said highlighting the delay of the government in taking up developmental projects.
Mr Yeddyurappa said Mr Siddaramaiah who headed a protest rally from Hospet to Kudalsangama before he came to power had promised to release at least Rs 10,000 crore for Upper Krishna Projects (UKP) works every year. As per official records, the Siddaramaiah government has spent Rs 900 crore on UKP projects in 2013-14 and another Rs 990 crore the next fiscal.
The Congress government which came to power giving hollow assurances to the people should clarify its stand on UKP projects, he said, adding that under pressure from leaders who have migrated to the Congress, the CM is unable to ensure release of funds to ministries controlled by home grown Congress leaders.
