State government accused of meting out step-motherly treatment to Chittapur constituency

KPCC spokesperson and MLA for Priyank Kharge addressing a public at Hommanahalli in his constituency in Kalaburagi district after laying foundation stones for various development projects on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: Arun Kulkarni

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge has said that the State government has meted out step-motherly treatment to his constituency by depriving it of its rightful allocation of ₹200 crore meant for development works.

“I have been striving to develop the constituency despite the non-cooperation of the ruling BJP government. A sum of ₹200 crore was supposed to be released to the constituency for taking up development projects. But, the government has not released it. This government is discriminating against the constituency. It is releasing money to only those constituencies that are represented by the BJP. I will continue to fight injustice,” Mr. Kharge said.

He was addressing the public at Hommanahalli in his constituency on Wednesday after laying foundation stone for various development projects to be taken up at a cost of ₹1.82 crore.

Unleashing a bitter attack against the government for corruption, Mr. Kharge said that 40% commission has become a norm in all government departments for people to get work done.

“A BJP legislator has received ₹1 crore bribe in just one year. Bills of contractors who don’t pay bribe amounting to 40% of the total project cost are not cleared. As per an estimate, bills worth ₹25,000 crore are pending just because the contractors refused to pay bribe. Corruption is so rampant in the BJP rule that contractors, unable to tolerate the harassment, have written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention. They are now openly resisting. In-fighting among the BJP leaders are also revealing corruption in the government,” Mr. Kharge said.

Recalling the governance of the previous government in the State, Mr. Kharge said that the Congress had fulfilled 158 of the 165 promises given during the 2013 Assembly elections. He said that the BJP has not fulfilled even 20 of the 600 promises it made during the 2018 Assembly elections.

“Now, we have made two promises, providing each household with 200 units of free electricity every month and ₹2,000 to every woman head of the family every month. It is our guarantee. We are known for doing what we say and our track record confirms it. In the days to come, we are also coming out with more feasible promises concerning the other sections of society, especially farmers and the youth,” Mr. Kharge said.