In a scathing attack on various poll-time guarantees made by the Congress Government in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged on Thursday that the State’s finance department has been unable to allocate additional funds for wage payments and fuel expenses.
The BJP further questioned whether the ruling party would now bear the cost of the promised free bus rides from its own resources.
Amit Malviya, the head of BJP’s IT department, took to Twitter and shared a purported letter from the State’s finance department. He wrote, “Revdi politics is bleeding Karnataka already.”
“The Government of Karnataka’s Finance Department informs RTCs (road transport corporations), including KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) and BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation), that it cannot provide additional grant for payment of wages and fuel expenditure,” Malviya stated. He continued, “Will Congress now pay for the promised free bus rides from its pocket?”
Malviya also criticised the Congress Government’s decision to increase power tariffs in Karnataka by up to 30 per cent immediately after coming into power, while simultaneously promising 200 free units. He claimed that this move, coupled with the promise of freebies, is jeopardizing the existence of industries in the State. “At this rate, Congress will take Karnataka to the Stone Age,” Malviya remarked.
The implementation of five guarantees by the Karnataka Government, which involve offering free benefits, has sparked a war of words between the ruling Congress and the main Opposition, BJP.
In response to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s accusation that the central government was trying to undermine the state’s free rice scheme for the poor, former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai retaliated, accusing Siddaramaiah of making “lame excuses” and engaging in “conspiracy politics” by shifting blame onto the Centre.
Bommai claimed that the Congress government in the state is resorting to such tactics because it will be unable to fulfill its guarantees. He suggested that the Siddaramaiah regime should deposit the funds directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer until proper arrangements for rice distribution are made.
“The state government, on one hand, is deceiving the people of the state by failing to provide 10 kg of free rice to the poor, and on the other hand, to save themselves from the embarrassment of not fulfilling their promise, they are playing politics with the issue of rice supply,” Bommai stated.