Coalition Government has Failed to Tackle Drought Conditions in the State – Shobha Karandlaje
Udupi: Narendra Modi has fulfilled his poll promise by approving a new scheme, which assures minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to all shopkeepers, retail traders, and self employed persons, said Shobha Karandlaje – Member of Parliament for the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha Constituency.
She was addressing a press meet at Hotel Country Inn, Manipal here, on Monday June 3. Shobha said, “In the recent Lok Sabha election, the BJP crossed 300 plus seats across the country. The party workers relentlessly toiled to ensure the party’s victory with a huge margin. The victory was also possible due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-people governance.”
“The voters of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru elected me by a high margin. I will prioritize upgrading the national highway and doubling of tracks along the Konkan route. The Modi-led government is committed to protecting the interest of areca nut growers by checking the import and smuggling of areca nut”, she added.
Shobha said she was keen on bringing central government-sponsored schemes to her constituency. “My other priorities include developing the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery (IIGJ), Government Tool Room and Training Centre (GTTC) and providing full-fledged infrastructure for Kendriya Vidyalaya in Udupi.”
“The new government in the centre will focus on ensuring that ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme reaches the deserving sections of society,” she added.
On ministerial berth, Shobha said she did not regret getting a ministerial berth as she felt she was still a junior in the politics and had a long way to go. She promised to take steps to help the farmers in distress.
She said the import of arecanut should be reduced, which in turn would help the arecanut growers to receive better price for their produce. She also said that many developmental works had come to a standstill due to the shortage of sand.
“The frequent transfers of bureaucrats also posed a hindrance to the ongoing developmental activities.”
Accusing the State government of failing to take up development projects, Shobha said, “Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had forgotten development works and was engaged in visiting temples and performing puja rituals. The people are disappointed about the performance of the coalition government in the state.”
Shobha also criticized the state-level coalition government for what she felt was an utter failure of taking up drought relief work. “The State is reeling under drought and there is an outcry over the acute water crisis and fodder shortage for the cattle. But the government has turned a blind eye to these problems”, she said
“The voters have taught a befitting lesson to the resort and family politics of the government during the Lok Sabha election. She challenged the Chief Minister and other ministers to tender their resignations and seek the people’s mandate.”
Shobha also accused the state government of failing to utilize the funds released by the Centre.
“The coalition partners [Congress and Janata Dal-S] themselves are destabilizing their own government as they are facing internal rumblings. The people have lost faith in the coalition government. BJP is neither poaching MLAs from Congress nor JD(S). The party is not engaged in toppling the coalition government. The unholy alliance of Congress and JD(S) will collapse at any moment on its own”, she said.
Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat, BJP district Chief Mattar Rathnakar Hegde, BJP leaders Sandhya Ramesh, Githanjali Suvarna, and others were present