Amid speculation of a possible alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former Chief Ministers H.D. Kumaraswamy and Basavaraj Bommai on Friday held a joint press conference at the JD(S) Legislature Party office to announce that they will put up a united fight against the Congress government in the State.
“We are both Opposition parties and have decided to fight together in the interest of the State,” said Mr. Kumaraswamy.
In their first joint demand, the two leaders said that the government should take over the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE).
Stop toll collection
Demanding that toll collection on the expressway should be stopped immediately, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the government should order a high-level probe into the project. “If the government does not take over the project, we have decided to fight against this government unitedly both inside and outside the House,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
“People are asking why they should pay the toll on NICE road. There were several cases against the company. A Cabinet sub-committee formed in 2016 has also submitted a report pointing to irregularities. We demand that the Congress government should act on the court and cabinet sub-committee reports. The additional acquired land must be returned to farmers. An audit must be conducted and additional toll collected must be taken back by the government. If you stop this project, you will get ₹30,000 crore. You can use that for your Bhagya schemes,” he said.
On the suspension of 10 BJP MLAs from the Assembly, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, “It is astonishing that the Speaker did not allow members to break for lunch. How can he not let the members have lunch?”
‘Diverting SCSP/TSP grants’
Alleging that the government is misusing SCSP/TSP grants to fund its guarantee schemes, Mr. Bommai accused the Congress of betraying the SC/ST communities.
“These grants are exclusively earmarked for the welfare of the SC/ST communities. The government is using ₹6,000 crore SCSP/TSP grants for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. They have diverted a total of ₹13,000 crore from this pool for the guarantee schemes. Wonder how the Dalit Ministers and legislators are not questioning the government over this,” he said.
‘No alliance with NDA or UPA’
Janata Dal (Secular) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has said that there is no question of his party’s alliance with the NDA or UPA. Speaking to reporters after the JD(S) Legislature Party meeting held on Thursday night, Mr. Deve Gowda said while the JD(S) will fight independently, as an Opposition it will keep raising issues related to injustice faced by the people and fight against the government. “A story is being spun that BJP and JD(S) have come together,” he said.
