Amid the BJP government in the State coming under pressure from an apparent resurgence of the Opposition Congress, the BJP State unit is set to celebrate three years of the party rule through a Janotsava on September 8.
Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar told presspersons here on Sunday, “Besides Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Cabinet Ministers, BJP central leaders, including party national president J.P. Nadda, will attend the event.” Further, he said that two to three lakh people from three districts were likely to participate. The Doddaballapur event will be followed by four more such programmes in the State.
The BJP which was set to celebrate the three years of the party government and one year of Basavaraj Bommai’s chief ministership on July 28 at Doddaballapur, near here, had called off the event after the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru in Dakshin Kannada that was followed by a spate of resignations in the Yuva Morcha. In an emergency midnight press conference, Mr. Bommai had announced the cancellation of the event.
Dr. Sudhakar said beneficiaries of government schemes and programmes would be participating in the event. Responding to Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, who termed Janotsava as ‘Brashtacharotsava’ (celebration of corruption), the Minister said he should keep facts before making such allegations. “People will decide on it and they will let it be known in 2023. Why did the Congress lose in 2018? We could have called it a corrupt government. “ Taking a dig at the 75th birthday celebration of Mr. Siddaramaiah, he said, “Janotsava is a report card before people. It is not someone’s personal celebration.”
Congress taunts BJP govt.
The Karnataka Congress has taken a dig at the BJP government alleging rampant corruption. “Corruption is omnipresent in the 40% commission government. The chairs seek bribe from the Vidhana Soudha to gram panchayat offices,” the Congress tweeted, adding that the High Court had also observed that the files do not move if a bribe was not paid. “The court’s observation is a slap on the face of the BJP government,” it said.
Responding to BJP MLA for Haveri Nehru Olekar’s threat of a black flag demonstration during a function in which Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai participated, the Congress sought to know: “Mr. Bommai, you always said certificate from Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar is not required. Your own legislator is giving a black flag that is bigger than a certificate. Does it not reflect on your administration?”
