BENGALURU: The verbal battle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP leaders on Kalasa-Banduri canal project continued on Monday with the CM asserting that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can resolve the dispute.
Modi has been urged to convene a meeting of chief ministers of the three riparian states — Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
Siddaramaiah hit back at former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa who had asked him to convince the Congress leaders in Goa and Maharashtra to settle the Kalasa-Banduri issue before Modi convened a meeting of the chief ministers.
The CM accused the state BJP leaders of politicising the issue. “These BJP leaders had no dum (guts) to speak to Modi when the state all-party delegation met him. As the BJP national vice-president, Yeddyurappa should convince the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of the chief ministers if he (BSY) is really committed to protecting the interest of our farmers,” Siddaramaiah said.
‘Let Centre Show the Way’
Reacting to Yeddyurappa’s statement that he would not rest until the Siddaramaiah-led government waived farm loans in drought-affected areas, Siddaramaiah challenged Yeddyurappa to convince the Centre to waive the agriculture loans obtained from nationalised banks, which account for about 75 per cent of the loans.
“Yeddyurappa is making irresponsible statements. He is feeling neglected within his party after he was denied a berth in the Union Cabinet,” Siddaramaiah said.
‘Renovation, A Routine Affair’
Siddaramaiah termed the renovation, reconstruction and beautification of ministerial bungalows as a routine affair. Responding to a question from reporters on crores of rupees being spent to renovate, rebuild and furnish ministerial bungalows, Siddaramaiah said, “It is routine work being undertaken by the Public Works Department (PWD). We do not insist on getting anything done in a specific way. The works are being taken up keeping in mind the minimum facilities needed.” When asked about the proposed anti-superstition bill, Siddaramaiah said an extensive public debate is needed on the issue.