BJP TO STEP UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST SIDDARAMAIAH

BENGALURU: The BJP’S Karnataka unit on Tuesday announced a 36-day statewide campaign to “expose the misdeeds” of the Siddaramaiah government and assess the drought situation which the ruling Congress has “failed” to tackle effectively.

Terming the Siddaramaiah dispensation as the “most corrupt” and the “worst ever”, the BJP’S state unit President B S Yeddyurappa told reporters that the campaign will begin on May 18 at Tumkur with the party embarking on a mass contact programme.

“This is the most corrupt government in the country. The state stands at the bottom in terms of law and order,” he said and accused Siddaramaiah of being “nonchalant” towards the misery of people hit by the worst-ever drought in the last 30 to 40 years.

Yeddyurappa claimed that 6,521 murders have been reported in the last four years and 1,200 farmers have committed suicide in the last one year while the state is slipping in rank on all parameters concerning development.

The government is also “neck deep” in corruption, he alleged.

Asked about the Chief Minister’s remark that the state BJP leaders have no “moral right” to talk about graft as they themselves faced corruption charges when in power, Yeddyurappa said, “Siddaramaiah’s words command no value.”

He said the state’s debt burden has mounted to Rs 1,28,361 crore in the last five years compared to Rs 46,190 crore during the BJP rule in the state.

The state government has also renamed several schemes of the Centre, like providing free gas connection to BPL card holders under the ‘Ujjwala’ programme and is touting those as its own achievement, the BJP leader said.

The campaign will conclude at Vijayapura in north Karnataka on June 29, he said, adding, it will “expose the tissue of lies” being peddled by the Siddaramaiah government.

Yeddyurappa said the party will assess the drought situation during the campaign and get a first-hand information about relief measures.

He also said the party will get a survey done to know which candidates can be considered for being fielded for the assembly polls due early next year. “The BJP is confident of achieving its mission of securing 150 plus Assembly seats (out of 224),” Yeddyurappa said.