With the central leadership of the BJP asking state leaders to be patient until next year’s Lok Sabha elections are concluded, Yeddyurappa revealed his party will wait and watch.
In an interview to The Times of India, Yeddyurappa slammed the government for its lax administration and alleged that no government work can be achieved without paying bribes. Excerpts.
As the incumbent coalition government completes 100 days in power, what is your impression of the administration?
Is this government dead or alive? I am not saying this, but 90 per cent of the people in the state are questioning the attitude of the government. With 13 districts under drought and with floods in other parts of the state, are we seeing any ministers touring the state?
So is it your belief that the government is not delivering able administration...
Anywhere you go the common man is speaking of large-scale corruption. They have converted government transfers into a business. In the last 100 days, be it irrigation or PWD, every government department in the state has got a commission agent. These agents have been positioned to make money. No work can be completed in this state without paying a commission.
Are there any examples of this which have come to your notice?
You will be surprised by the number of government contractors who have not got their bills sanctioned just because they have not paid a commission. Result: They have had to stop infrastructure projects midway.
Over the past three months, there has been much talk of a tug-of-war between Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah. Has the former CM and coordination committee chairman donned the role of the opposition instead of the opposition?
In a coalition there is always a coordination committee that needs to stay strong and keep the government on track. Here, Siddaramaiah’s advice and suggestions have been dismissed and set aside by the CM. The government does not value Siddaramaiah’s words and he has been reduced to a non-entity. When was the last time the coordination committee met? Was it consulted before waiving farm loans? The coordination committee has become a naam ke vaasthe (for the sake of) body.
Since assuming power, Kumaraswamy has constantly accused the BJP of trying to topple the government. Are you trying to topple his government?
The chief minister must first put his house in order. Why is he dragging BJP’s name in this? Neither does he enjoy the confidence of his own MLAs, nor that of the Congress. He does not trust his coalition partners. This being the case, why is the BJP being dragged into it time and again?
So will this government last for 200 days?
I do not want to comment on that now. We will wait and watch.
What is your take on the farm loan waiver scheme initiated by Kumaraswamy?
The scheme is just an eye wash. The government is out to ruin the cooperative banks by waiving farmer loans, but not paying banks their dues. The end result is that farmers who wish to get a fresh round of loans are not getting any credit. The government is fooling them by claiming their farm loans have been waived. At the other end, nationalised banks are themselves in a quandary over the scheme. The government has gone ahead and made it public that nationalised banks have agreed to its scheme of four instalments. But it hasn’t taken these financial institutions into confidence.
But the government has clarified that it was only the interest portion of the nationalised banks that was a hurdle, and that too has been cleared...
Where is it in writing? These are just words by CM Kumaraswamy. Where have nationalised banks come out and said they have agreed to the scheme?
Will the coalition government’s performance in Karnataka have a national political impact on the BJP?
The two parties will not even reach an agreement over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, so where will it last to have a national impact? They do not even see eye-to-eye on making nominations to boards and corporations. The forthcoming urban local bodies (ULB) poll results on September 3 will show that they do not enjoy the popular mandate. The BJP will carry on with its plan to sweep Lok Sabha polls in the state.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2wrGN1n
