‘Scams, price hikes have become Cong govt’s guarantees’

CH NEWS, KALABURAGI MLC CT Ravi on Thursday criticised the Congress government in Karnataka, alleging that corruption scandals and price hikes had become its real guarantees instead of the promised welfare benefits. Addressing a press conference, Ravi alleged that the government had made life difficult for ordinary people by imposing taxes and increasing the financial burden on citizens. He said the government should answer questions surrounding allegations linked to the MUDA controversy, the Valmiki Corporation and the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), instead of diverting public attention. Referring to the alleged sting operation, Ravi demanded an impartial investigation and said the roles of its directors, producers and participants should be established through an inquiry. He questioned why the Chief Minister had advised caution regarding the sting operation but had not issued similar instructions to ministers and party leaders to maintain integrity. He said, a CBI investigation could be conducted if necessary to bring out the truth. Commenting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Ravi challenged Congress leaders to substantiate their allegations of vote theft with documentary evidence. He said the inclusion and deletion of names from electoral rolls were governed by Election Commission rules, with election officials responsible for examining applications and objections before taking a final decision. Ravi described as contradictory the allegations that fake voters were being added to electoral rolls while genuine voters were being removed. If vote theft had occurred in Kalaburagi, the Congress should make the evidence public, he said. He also remarked that those demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner should first consider resigning from their own positions if they had been elected using the same electoral process. Ravi alleged that farmers, teachers, guest lecturers and pensioners across Karnataka were facing several unresolved problems. He claimed that payments due to farmers for the procurement of tur dal, maize and ragi remained pending. He also alleged that approximately Rs 900 crore in incentives payable to milk producers had not been released and that honorariums to guest lecturers had been delayed for three to four months. The government should explain the reported delays in pension payments affecting around 23 lakh beneficiaries, he said. BJP candidate Shashil Namoshi, former MP Umesh Jadhav, BG Patil, Basavaraj Mattimadu, Avinash Jadhav, Chandu Patil, Ashok Bagali, SharanappaTalwar, Nitin Guttedar and Ambaraya Ashtagi, other leaders were present.