Stark contradictions and U-turns within BJP
In the last assembly elections,the BJP met a miserable defeat owing to its own party image. Congress wasn’t even responsible for where BJP had found itself. The BJP’s high command in Delhi and leaders at local level had posed massive challenges to Yeddyurappa, who was not allowed to discharge his duties. The government was resting on the money power bolstered by the Reddy brothers who were another league of troublemakers altogether. They resorted to blackmailing Yeddyurappa at every given opportunity. The dissidents often went to Delhi and complained against their CM BSY. And all this finally ended with BSY having to relinquish the CM’s seat. The only priority for the BJP ministers after this was to loot the state. Many ministers were caught carrying out acts of corruption and were even caught in the act. Finally, the BJP government fell after Justice Santosh Hegde submitting a report on unchecked illegal mining in the state. After Yeddyurappa was forced to step down,The BJP government gave the state two chief ministers such as Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar. Not only that, there were even two deputy chief ministers too. The assembly hall because infamous for the legislators watching porn films when the session was on.
Speaker K G Bopaiah flouted the rules and BJP breathed a temporary end with Yeddyurappa deciding to launch a new party, KJP or Karnataka Janata Paksha.
Today as we get close to elections, BJP is desperate to assume a new avatar.Like the mighty phoenix, It wants to rise from the ashes and come to life. It needs a brand new identity. But then why would people accept a party that they roundly rejected last time? They could have, only if the current Congress government had misruled the state or had not attended to people’s needs and requirements. CM Siddaramaiah has given most significant welfare programmes to people. Hence, the Congress government has gone to people with Siddaramaiah as their leader.
Though it was inevitable, and also desirable for the BJP to go to seek people’s mandate with new faces and fresh manifesto, the party has lost its plot by projecting the same leader the people had rejected last time. The current BJP has disappointed their own workers.
When BSY formed KJP, the same leaders within BJP had criticized him to no end. Today, this job of criticism need not be done by the Congress. BJP itself is being unfair to its own roots. If people remember the past and go over the criticism the leaders had made against each other, this party would definitely bite the dust in the coming days. The infamous Reddy brothers who were responsible for the collapse of the order in the BJP government, are being considered in the top ranks of the party again. Unfortunately, our own Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being seen with the corrupt Reddys pandering around him. Janardhan Reddy had even approached the Supreme Court to seek permission to canvas on behalf of the party he earlier belonged to.
Basically, BJP has gone to people with the same stains that existed earlier. And the party hopes to make a comeback too! That’s some ambition, really. The leaders seem to be thinking Modi’s jibes and sarcasm will win them the votes. But then this is a costly lesson the party would learn at the earliest that this way, people will never buy their version. Even their manifesto does not say anything new. Congress at least had made a solid effort in ensuring their manifesto consisted of deliverable promises and the party completed its own assurances. The BJP which had ridiculed Indira Canteens in the beginning, has now mentioned a canteen on such lines for poor people in its manifesto. So will people have to choose BJP only so that the scheme names can be changed? BJP has been very sternly against loan waiver of farmers. The state government did its part in waiving off the loans. But the government at the centre flatly refused to waive off the farmer loans. Now in its manifesto, BJP has assured farm loan waiver. On one hand, BJP encourages dairy farming and on the other, they have a law to protect the cows. The party is filled with contradictions from top to bottom over such matters. There is a ban on cow slaughter in some states of BJP rule, whereas some other states and leaders of the party have clearly made statements supporting protection of cows and total ban of cow slaughter. As of now, confusion is the only state BJP is in irrespective of whether it wins other states or not. And this could even mark the end of Yeddyurappa era too.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Siddaramaiah defends BPL ration card cancellation, says only ineligible beneficiaries affected
New Delhi, Nov 21: In a strong defence of the Karnataka government's move to cancel ration cards, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday clarified that only government employees and income tax payers are being weeded out from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list, not eligible poor beneficiaries.
Talking to reporters, Siddaramaiah asserted that the cancellation is in line with the National Food Security Act, which explicitly bars government employees and income tax payers from receiving BPL ration cards.
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of raising a politically motivated issue despite originally opposing the food security legislation.
"The rights of eligible ration card holders will be fully protected," the chief minister emphasised, dismissing opposition claims that the move was linked to fund constraints for implementing poll promises.
ALSO READ: Karnataka to reissue BPL cards for eligible families: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
The controversy stems from the Karnataka government's recent survey identifying 22.63 lakh BPL card-holders as ineligible. This move has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the BJP.
Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed the central government had directed the state to clean the beneficiary lists. He alleged that the card cancellation was a strategy to avoid implementing the state's Gruha Lakshmi Yojana scheme.
Siddaramaiah hit back, reminding that the food security law was introduced during the Manmohan Singh government in 2013 to protect poor citizens' interests. He criticised the BJP for previously reducing food grain allocation from seven kg to five kg per beneficiary during B S Yediyurappa's tenure.
The chief minister categorically stated that there would be no compromise on the five poll guarantees and that sufficient funds were available for their implementation.
Siddaramaiah was in the national capital for the launch of Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd's Nandini brands in Delhi. He also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the issue of farm loan.
