BJP's 10-day march expands to attack Congress on corruption and drought relief

The BJP's 10-day march from Lingasugur in Raichur district to Ballari now targets a spectrum of allegations against the Congress government, even after the minister at the centre of the original demand stepped down.

Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa flagged off the padayatra following a public meeting at Lingasugur, with the party expanding its focus beyond the resignation of Planning and Statistics Minister B. Nagendra over alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. The campaign, which Nagendra's resignation failed to halt, now protests alleged corruption, diversion of funds meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, inadequate drought relief, and neglect of North Karnataka.

Expanded campaign targets

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok, former Chief Ministers Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanswamy, and former Minister C.T. Ravi participated in the programme.

"This padayatra is a campaign against the misrule and corruption of the Congress government. It marks the beginning of the BJP's new fight against the government," Yediyurappa said. He questioned whether Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had the freedom to discharge his duties, accusing him of "going to Delhi for everything and falling at Rahul Gandhi's feet".

Claims of fund misuse and drought neglect

Vijayendra said the party would not rest until "the ₹187 crore misappropriated in the Valmiki corporation case" was recovered and remitted to the State exchequer. He also claimed that around ₹50,000 crore meant for SCs and STs had been diverted for implementation of the guarantee schemes.

Pointing to the drought situation in the State, Vijayendra alleged that more than 200 taluks were facing drought while only 101 had been declared drought-hit. He accused the government of discriminating between constituencies represented by Congress and BJP MLAs in the assessment of drought conditions.

"The State government is least concerned about the development of North Karnataka. It has not released the required funds for major irrigation projects in North Karnataka, including the Navali Balancing Reservoir and the Nandawadagi Lift Irrigation Project," he said.

He predicted that "another senior Minister" would resign in the coming days and that the BJP would return to power in the 2028 Assembly elections.

Opposition leaders amplify charges

Claiming that 175 taluks were drought-hit, Ashok said, "If you don't declare the remaining 74 taluks as drought-affected within a week, the people will declare the government bankrupt". Terming Nagendra a "scapegoat", Ashok alleged that the funds misappropriated in the Valmiki corporation case were sent to the Congress high command, which, he said, used them for its election campaign in other States.

Bommai accused the State government of indifference to North Karnataka, alleging that no funds had been released for major irrigation projects in the region, especially the Upper Krishna Project, in the last three years. He questioned the manner in which drought-affected taluks were being identified, saying the assessment should not be based solely on satellite imagery but should include ground-level verification.

"When I was Chief Minister, the reservation for Scheduled Castes was increased from 15% to 17% and reservation for Scheduled Tribes from 3% to 7%. Now the Congress government has restored the reservation to its original position. This is how the Congress government is acting against SCs and STs," he said.

Source: The Hindu