Bengaluru, Aug 25: The Karnataka BJP will undertake a 10-day padayatra from Raichur to Ballari from September 1 to 10 to highlight the alleged failures of the Congress government in the state, party state president B Y Vijayendra said on Tuesday.
BJP plans to highlight the induction of B Nagendra, who is facing corruption charges, in the state cabinet, apart from allegations of farmers’ distress, unemployment, reservation issues and corruption in recruitment, he added.
This around 200 km foot march will begin in Raichur on September 1, and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi will inaugurate it, and the march will conclude in Ballari, Vijayendra said.
He added that JD(S) would extend “complete support” to the BJP-led padayatra, with its leaders expected to attend both the inauguration and concluding programme.
“The objective of this padayatra is to expose the true colours of this anti-people, anti-poor, anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-development Congress government and create awareness among the people of the state,” Vijayendra said.
He said the BJP would use the march to demand the removal of Nagendra from the Cabinet over his alleged role in the Karnataka State Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.
“We have decided to take up all these issues, beginning with the demand that corrupt minister Nagendra be dropped from the Cabinet,” he said.
Vijayendra accused the government of failing to address the distress of drought-hit farmers and alleged that around 2.5 lakh posts remained unfilled in the state and old-age pensions, Sandhya Suraksha benefits, houses for the poor and Ganga Kalyana schemes were not being properly implemented.
He criticised Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the recent curtailment of the Assembly session, alleging that the government had avoided discussions on key issues.
“If all these issues were discussed in the Assembly, the mask of this Congress government would have been removed,” he said.
Vijayendra also accused Shivakumar of focusing on real estate-related projects rather than governance and development. “Overall, Shivakumar’s interest revolves around real estate,” he alleged, citing the proposed Bidadi township project, an airport in his hometown Kanakapura and the government’s move to take over the NICE project.
He further alleged that the government was “playing games” with reservation and had failed to take a clear position on OBC reservation.
The BJP government under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had increased reservation for the Valmiki community from three per cent to seven per cent, he claimed.
Vijayendra said the BJP would also raise the issues of North Karnataka and irrigation projects during the padayatra.
The Shikaripura MLA said the BJP had decided to “bring this Congress government, which is immersed in corruption, onto the streets and expose it.” He said Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had assured him of support for the programme.
“The JD(S) is extending complete support to our Padayatra. They will attend the inauguration as well as the concluding programme,” Vijayendra said.
The Opposition has been demanding Nagendra’s removal from the Cabinet over the alleged Rs 89 crore irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
The Legislative Session was curtailed by three days due to the BJP’s protest inside both the Houses demanding Nagendra’s removal. Instead of conducting it till August 27, both the Houses were adjourned sine die on Monday owing to the disruption by the Opposition. (PTI)
