K’taka BJP says it is ready for Bengaluru civic polls, slams govt over fund allocation to its MLAs

Bengaluru, June 30 (IANS) Karnataka BJP on Tuesday said that the party is fully prepared for the elections to the proposed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), while alleging that the Congress government has discriminated against BJP legislators in the allocation of development funds.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of BJP leaders appointed as in-charges for the GBA elections at the party’s state headquarters in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashoka said the party had already begun preparations despite uncertainty over when the elections would be held.

“It is not clear whether the Congress government will conduct the Greater Bengaluru Authority elections or not. But the BJP is ready for the elections and has already begun the necessary preparations,” he said.

Ashoka said the party had appointed election in-charges who would visit every Assembly constituency to oversee the revision of electoral rolls, assess local issues and hold discussions regarding prospective candidates.

“We have already held four to five meetings. Our objective is to win all the municipal corporations under the GBA. Local MLAs are working full-time, and we are preparing a comprehensive election strategy. A committee will also be constituted to prepare the party’s manifesto,” he said.

Criticising the Congress government, Ashoka alleged that Bengaluru had been neglected over the past three years.

“The Congress government has betrayed Bengaluru. It has failed to solve the garbage problem, failed to repair pothole-ridden roads and has done nothing except increasing taxes,” he alleged.

Ashoka also accused the Congress government of discriminating against BJP legislators in the allocation of development funds.

“The Congress came to power promising to build a ‘Brand Bengaluru’, but nothing has happened. Instead, it has discriminated while allocating funds. Constituencies represented by Congress MLAs have received crores of rupees, while constituencies represented by BJP MLAs have been given much less,” he alleged.

He said such discrimination was affecting development works and warned that if elections were announced soon, the Model Code of Conduct would delay ongoing infrastructure projects.

“If the election schedule is announced, development works will suffer because fresh tenders and execution will take time. The government should release data on constituency-wise allocations made over the last 15 years so people can judge whether there has been discrimination,” he said.

Ashoka also criticised the Congress government over the state’s financial position, alleging that inadequate rainfall had affected revenues and that the government lacked funds for development.

“The government has no money to provide grants. It has failed to support development over the past three years,” he alleged.

He further accused the Congress of avoiding discussions on development and instead focusing on ideological issues.

“They speak more about the RSS than development. If Congress has confidence in its performance, it should debate development. Major projects such as the airport, Metro expansion and the Yettinahole project were initiated by the BJP, while the Congress has little to show,” Ashoka claimed.

Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan alleged that the Congress government has completely failed in the development of Bengaluru and accused it of discriminating against BJP legislators in the allocation of development funds.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Ashwath Narayan said the state government had not provided adequate funds for the city’s development and had adopted a discriminatory approach in allocating grants.

“The Congress government has not allocated sufficient funds for Bengaluru’s development. It has discriminated in the allocation of grants by giving more funds to Congress MLAs and less to BJP MLAs. This discrimination must stop,” he said.

He further alleged that while the government had increased revenue by imposing higher taxes and charges, it had failed to adequately invest in the city’s development.

“The government has collected more revenue through garbage tax, property tax, advertisement fees, increased electricity tariffs and higher water charges imposed by the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). Electricity consumers are being burdened with multiple charges,” he alleged.

Ashwath Narayan claimed that the previous BJP government had allocated significantly higher funds for Bengaluru compared to the present Congress government.

“The BJP government had provided much higher allocations for Bengaluru. Compared to that, the Congress government has allocated much less. The government should not discriminate and must provide funds equally to every constituency based on need,” he said.

–IANS

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