Leader of Opposition R Ashoka
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition R Ashoka has called upon voters to reject the Congress in the forthcoming elections to taluk and zilla panchayats in the state for “deceiving voters just to grab power.”
Releasing two old video clips of Siddaramaiah in which he is seen assuring electorate that if the Congress comes to power it will reduce petrol and cooking gas prices, Ashoka said: “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah often takes pride in saying ‘Nammadu Nudidante Nadeda Sarkara’ (Ours is a government which walks the talk). Is this what you had promised ahead of elections and giving it now?.”
He alleged that the government’s decision to increase fuel prices was nothing but vindictive politics practised by the Congress against the people of Karnataka for not voting them in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls in the state.
“Rising fuel prices soon after the Lok Sabha polls can only be best described as vindictive as the Congress was anticipating to win at least 20 seats in the state. But, it could not even cross single digit despite its guarantee schemes. Hence the party has taken this route to ensure electorate are punished,” he said.
Ashoka charged that the Congress government had gone bankrupt on account of guarantee schemes. The state government has now prepared blueprint to mortgage government assets belonging to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to take loans to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore from banks to fund projects in Bengaluru city.
Terming Siddaramaiah “outgoing CM”, Ashoka said that the CM, who has a record of giving highest number of budgets in the state, has planned to lease commercial complexes belonging to Bengaluru Development Authority to private buildres for over 60 years.