Karnataka BJP president targets Congress Govt over corruption, drought during Ballari Chalo padayatra

The BJP’s ongoing ‘Ballari Chalo’ padayatra in Karnataka, led by State president BY Vijayendra, covered 22 km on its second day on Wednesday, with the party leader targeting the ruling Congress over alleged corruption, “commission raj”, drought and diversion of funds meant for marginalised communities.

The 10-day foot march, which began at Lingasugur on Tuesday, included an assessment of drought conditions, inspection of crop damage, interactions with farmers and Dalit leaders, and a public meeting in Maski.

The padayatra is scheduled to conclude in Ballari after covering around 185 km, passing through Maski, Sindhanur, Karatagi, Gangavathi, Kampli, Sandur and Ballari Rural constituencies, according to the BJP.

Addressing reporters, Vijayendra alleged that corruption and demands for commissions had become deeply entrenched in the Congress Government.

“Even a ruling party MLA, Ashok Rai, has written to the CM against the commission system. This itself shows how deeply the commission racket has penetrated the Government,” he said.

Referring to allegations that engineers of the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited’s Mangaluru division had demanded a seven per cent commission from contractors executing various projects under the State Government undertaking, Vijayendra said the issue demonstrated the “level to which the administration has fallen”.

He challenged the Congress Government to dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate if it was unable to govern the state.

“If you cannot run the Government, dissolve the Assembly and go before the people. Face elections and accept the people’s verdict. Is Congress ready to do that?” he asked.

Vijayendra demanded that all taluks facing severe rainfall deficiency be declared drought-hit and adequate relief provided to affected farmers.

He criticised the Government for declaring only 101 taluks as drought-hit despite rainfall shortages in several other areas.

“If the remaining taluks have to be declared drought-hit, perhaps farmers too have to pay a commission to the Government,” he said sarcastically.

During the padayatra, Vijayendra, former minister B Sriramulu and other leaders assessed drought conditions on Bedara Karalakunti Road in Raichur district and inspected damaged millet crops. They also interacted with affected farmers.

The BJP State president later held an interaction with Dalit leaders, during which issues relating to education, employment, self-employment, scholarships, skill development and implementation of the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan were discussed.

Vijayendra alleged that funds earmarked for the welfare of Dalits, tribal communities and other marginalised sections were being diverted for other purposes.

He sought an explanation from the Government over his allegation that around Rs 52,000 crore of SCP-TSP funds had been diverted towards guarantee schemes over the last three years.

“Guarantee schemes may be the Government’s policy, but why should money earmarked for the development of Dalits and tribal communities be diverted for them? The Government must explain whose money is being used,” he said.

Vijayendra alleged that allocations to various development corporations had been reduced under the Congress Government.

On reservation, he said merely announcing recruitment to two lakh posts would not address the problems of unemployed youth and urged the Government to effectively defend reservation-related issues in courts.

He demanded that funds allegedly taken from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation be returned in full and utilised for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.

The BJP’s ‘Ballari Chalo’ padayatra was originally planned to demand the resignation of Planning and Statistics Minister B Nagendra over allegations of his involvement in the embezzlement of funds from the state-run Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. Despite Nagendra’s resignation, the BJP continued with the march, expanding its campaign to include a range of issues against the Congress Government.

Vijayendra said the padayatra had drawn attention to issues concerning North Karnataka, including drought.

“The government had forgotten North Karnataka. But after our padayatra, it is being forced to speak about drought and the declaration of drought-hit taluks. This is the impact of the people’s movement,” he said.

The second day’s march concluded at Gududur after covering 22 km.

The BJP said the response to the padayatra reflected concerns over farmers’ distress, unemployment, social justice, alleged corruption and administrative failures of the Congress Government.