Mangaluru: The BJP leaders of Udupi district feel that several projects including those pertaining to the Town Hall, Rathnakaravarni Vidhyapeetha, boat club and bridges that were assured by Congress leader Veerappa Moily several years ago have gone 'missing,' in Karkala.
'Town Hall Huduki Kodi,' 'Rathnakaravarni Vidhyapeetha Yenayithu,' were some of the slogans raised by the BJP during the protest held at Karkala. The BJP protested against the Congress for not fulfilling several projects assured decades ago. The main target of the party was former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily who represented Karkala six consecutive time from 1972 to 1994.
"Moily had represented Karkala from 1972 and from 1973, he was minister whenever Congress came to power in the state. He was also elevated to the post of Chief Minister and later as Union Minister. Our town has several foundation stones laid by Moily but most of the projects are pending," Karkala BJP chief Maniraj Shetty told Deccan Chronicle.
"About 25 years ago, Moily had laid the foundation stone for 'Rathnakaravarni Vidhyapeetha' in 10 acres of land at Chara Village. When he was the CM, he laid the foundation stone for the boat club at Anekere. He and his wife had gone boating too. But even after so many years, these projects have not started," Shetty alleged.
"On January 19, 2014 he laid the foundation stone for the Town Hall in Karkala. He was Union Minister for Petroleum then and had promised to construct the hall with the support of corporate companies. This project too has not been executed. It is exactly four years since the foundation stone was laid and so we held a protest," he added.
"The foundation stones are everywhere but projects are missing. Now we have held a protest, next we will take this campaign to the booth level and distribute pamphlets in all 204 booths," he declared.
Though Moily has not contested from Karkala for a long time, he still enjoys great support among Congress leader there. Gopal Bhandary became MLA of Karkala because of the Moily factor," a source said.
