Newly-appointed Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok on Wednesday fired his first salvo at the Congress government by demanding that Energy Minister K. J. George resign owning up moral responsibility for the electrocution of a woman and her baby in Bengaluru due to the fault of power utility.
In a statement here, Mr. Ashok termed the Minister’s reported claims that rats biting the power cable could be the reason for electrocution as heights of contemptible attitude.
Accusing Mr. George of trying to escape from moral responsibility and behaving in an insensitive manner, he maintained that prima facie the failure to properly maintain the network appeared to be responsible for the tragic episode.
Taking exception to the Minister referring to rat-bite even before the four different investigations that have been ordered into the episode completed their task, he suspected that such a statement could have been made to bring pressure on the probing agencies to toe his line of thinking.
Mr. Ashok urged the Chief Minister to break his silence on the episode and demanded that he should intervene immediately to sack the Minister. He also demanded that a high-level probe be ordered in the case.
Alleging that the electrocution episode had turned out to be a black spot for Brand Bengaluru, Mr. Ashok maintained that it was not possible for the probe to be conducted in an impartial manner if Mr. George continued as Minister.
Mr. Ashok said the BJP would take up a struggle inside the Legislative Houses at the legislature session in Belagavi demanding the resignation of Mr. George and payment of ₹25 lakh as compensation to the victims’ family.
