CM Siddaramaiah eyes zilla panchayat elections

Hubballi: A day after he was accused of slapping an official in Ballari, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah slammed the Opposition charge that he was on an inaugural spree with an eye on taluk and zilla panchayat elections. Addressing newspersons after laying the foundation stone for various development projects in Bagalkot on Sunday, he claimed that several projects should have been flagged off a month ago but were postponed due to the code of conduct prevalent during the Legislative Council elections.

“JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy displays no common sense when he criticizes the government over inauguration of development projects. We cannot hold back these projects just because elections are round the corner. There are no plans to gain any political mileage. Opposition leaders cannot digest the popularity of the government which has launched several pro-poor programmes,” Siddaramaiah said.

Stating that his government is committed to redress regional imbalance by ensuring inclusive growth of North Karnataka region, he said the Congress has fulfilled its promise of allocating adequate funds for irrigation projects and more funds will be earmarked for this purpose in the next two budgets. The process is on to acquire 1.32 lakh acres of land that will be submerged after increasing the Almatti dam’s height. Reiterating that his government is keen on introducing an anti-superstition law, he said its aim is to stop exploitation in the name of blind beliefs. Clarifying that his government is not trying to infringe on religious beliefs and the faith of the people, he said the proposed bill will instill scientific temper in weaker sections of society. Expressing confidence that the Congress will emerge victorious in ZP, TP elections, he condemned the charges made by BJP leaders that he is indulging in caste politics. He rebutted the charges that Congress is giving ticket only to wealthy candidates in the TP and ZP elections.