SHAH: CONG, CORRUPTION LIKE FISH & WATER
BENGALURU: In his fourth round of visit to poll-bound Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that the Siddaramaiah government will be thrown out in the May 12 assembly polls, mainly because of corruption.
“I have toured almost the entire state and I can see that the people have decided to throw out the Siddaramaiah government,” Shah said at press conference in Mysuru, even as the Congress debunked his claim, saying people know that BJP’S chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa had led the most corrupt government in the state.
“The most important issue is corruption. Congress and corruption are related like fish and water. This relationship has been promoted very well by Siddaramaiah. There is a whirlwind of corruption under Siddaramaiah, which will become a tsunami if this government is voted back to power,” the BJP president said.
Shah said the state government had failed on all indicators of human development and was the worst in the country in terms of utilising central funds.
“Despite Karnataka being the information technology hub and accruing the benefits that come from this, nothing has percolated to the bottom,” he said.
Shah described the Karnataka government as “an ATM of corruption for the Congress”.
He also insisted that the Janata Dal (Secular) would not be able to address this situation as it was only limited to a few seats. “There is only one organisation that can bring about change and that is the BJP under the leadership of BS Yeddyurappa,” he said.
The BJP president also criticised chief minister Siddaramaiah for not being able to address the woes of the Other Backward Classes.
“I want to ask Siddaramaiah, who keeps saying he is an OBC leader, why did your party stop the Constitutional amendment the central government was bringing for sub-categorisation of the OBCS?” he asked.
When questioned about Siddaramaiah’s recent criticism that the Centre was diverting taxes collected from the southern states towards northern ones, Shah said state taxes were being used to run the country, and that the situation was similar in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
“Where will money for running army and Parliament come from? In a federal structure how can you talk in this way? Do they want to break up the country?” Shah asked. His comments come ahead of a meeting of finance ministers of southern states convened by Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac in Kochi on April 10.
Shortly after Shah’s accusations, Karnataka law minister TB Jayachandra hit back, saying there was nothing wrong in a state asking that it get its just share of taxes.
“Karnataka is one of the highest sources of tax revenue and we are only asking for a greater devolution of this to the state,” he said. Jayachandra said there was no question of breaking from the country, and described the BJP chief’s remark as irresponsible.
“In a democratic structure we are raising our concerns. Besides, we do not need lessons from the BJP on the meaning of federalism. They are the ones who are out to divide this country,” he said.