Vijayendra accuses Congress-led govt. of neglecting farmers, pursuing real estate interests

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra on Monday accused the Congress-led government in the State of ignoring farmers concerns and giving greater importance to real estate projects saying that such priorities have triggered protests by cultivators.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP office in Kalaburagi, Mr. Vijayendra referred to the opposition from farmers to the proposed Bidadi township project and said that the resentment among farmers reflects the State government’s failure to address their concerns.

“Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar appears more interested in developing real estate rather than ensuring farmers welfare. The situation in Bidadi, where officials face opposition while carrying out surveys, is a result of this approach,” he said.

Wrong approach

Mr. Vijayendra said that the Congress-led government’s development priorities remain centred around Bengaluru, ignoring the aspirations of North Karnataka region as a whole. He said that the approach of considering Bengaluru’s growth as the growth of the entire State continues even under Mr. Shivakumar’s governance as well.

Questioning the urgency shown towards projects such as the Bidadi township and the proposed second airport near Bengaluru, he said that development should be more evenly distributed and should focus on backward regions, particularly the Kalyana Karnataka region.

He also said that the Congress is attempting to influence the Election Commission’s electoral rolls revision process by facilitating the issuance of Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) to secure the votes of illegal migrants.

Criticising the State government’s handling of the drought situation, Mr. Vijayendra said that the failure to constitute a full-fledged Cabinet even after a month in office reflects the lack of seriousness in governance.

The absence of a Minister for Agriculture when the State is facing one of its worst drought situations shows the government’s indifference towards farmers, he said.

Taking a dig at Home Minister and Kalaburagi district in-charge Minister Priyank Kharge, Mr. Vijayendra said that the Minister is ignoring local issues while focusing on national and international matters.

Referring to the hospitalisation of students from the Morarji Desai Residential School at Dandoti village in Chittapur taluk following a suspected food poisoning incident, he questioned the Minister’s absence and said that his whirlwind tours to the district have failed to bring any visible benefit to the region.

Mr. Vijayendra sarcastically asked whether Mr. Kharge is visiting the district regularly and if has any concern about the worsening drought condition.

When reporters sought to know what the BJP, as the principal Opposition party, is doing to raise farmers issues and mount pressure on the State government over drought relief, Mr. Vijayendra declined to answer and abruptly ended the interaction without taking further questions.

MLAs Basavaraj Mattimod, Shailendra Beldale and Sharanu Salagar, MLC B.G. Patil and the former MP Umesh Jadhav were present.