Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District BJP President, K Prathap Simha Nayak held a press meet at the District BJP Office, Kodialbail here, on March 22.
Addressing the mediapersons, Prathap said, “The people of Dakshina Kannada are suffering from many problems like, issues related to shortage of sand for construction, frequent power cuts and the problem of drinking water. But what is the government doing to solve these problems? It has been a month since the Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections, but till date the government has failed to appoint a President and Vice President. If they had swiftly appointed a President for the ZP, then people would have a bench to hear their pleas.”
He said that the government has failed to assess the situation of power shortage. “This is a time for the annual exams, a period that decides the future of the students and power cuts during this time affect the students,” he added.
Prathap further said that after the ZP and TP elections, a meeting of all the office bearers of BJP was held on March 18 and it was decided that meetings of the Kumki land holders will be held in all 230 Gram Panchayats. “A database of all the land holdings will be formed and later submitted to the government. After we get the response from the government on this matter we will continue our struggle at the district level and Vidhana Sabha level. We will also discuss all the other problems faced by the people during the meetings,” he said.
“People used to think that the state government is asleep, but it appears that the state government is in a state of coma and is approaching death as the days pass by. There is no scope for any improvement from the state government,” Prathap said.
In his reply to District Minister In-Charge, Ramanath Rai’s statement that BJP was indulged in personal attacks on him, Prathap said, “If Ramanath Rai is hurt by any of the words uttered by any member of the BJP, then we are ready for a public apology. But if we the people of the district face any issues, then he is the one who is supposed to answer. It is not right on his part to take anything personally. The state government is such that if people protest they are beaten with batons and if anyone complains to the Power Minister regarding power cuts, a case is filed. How else will the public voice their concerns?”
He further said, “We will not be intimidated by these actions and will stand by the people and fight for their rights.” Speaking about the Yettinahole project he said that the BJP is not against providing drinking water to the dry lands but is against the project fearing the feasibility of such a large scale project. “The project was initiated without taking the people of the coastal region into confidence,” he added.
