Shortage of red stone, sand in Dakshina Kannada due to previous BJP Government: Ramanath Rai
Mangaluru: Former minister and senior Congress leader B. Ramanath Rai has held the previous BJP government responsible for the ongoing shortage of red stone and sand in Dakshina Kannada district.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Office on Wednesday, Rai criticized the BJP MLAs for merely standing on the streets and voicing concerns instead of working towards solutions. “It is not the job of elected representatives to just speak about the non-availability of red stone and sand. They must find solutions to the problem,” he stated.
He clarified that there is nothing new about the legal issues surrounding red stone and sand. "The current system has caused some difficulties, and I have brought this to the Chief Minister's attention," he said.
Recalling his tenure as district in-charge minister, Rai mentioned that he had secured state and central government approvals for sand mining even in the CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) areas. However, operations were later halted due to lack of environmental clearances. To resolve this, he identified sand blocks in non-CRZ areas and issued permits accordingly. He accused the subsequent BJP government of lacking interest in issuing permits for sand extraction even outside CRZ areas and claimed they indirectly encouraged illegal sand mining.
Rai added that the scarcity of red stone and sand is severely affecting the common people and construction workers. “While the royalty on red stone in Kerala is just ₹32, in Karnataka it is ₹280. I have held discussions with the concerned ministers and officials to bring down this rate,” he said, assuring that the issue will be resolved once permit issuance resumes.
He also criticized BJP MLAs for failing to fulfill their responsibilities and instead blaming the government. “They are speaking in the wrong forums and avoiding accountability,” he remarked.
Former Mangaluru Mayor Shashidhar Hegde, Block Presidents J. Abdul Saleem, Prakash Salyan, Shubhodaya Alva, George, and Nazir Bajal were present at the press meet.
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Defeated delimitation bill in Parliament to defend idea of India: Cong leader Rahul Gandhi
Chennai (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the opposition parties defeated the delimitation bill in the Parliament on Friday to defend the "idea of India."
Addressing a poll rally at Ponneri here, he said the BJP-led government at the Centre brought a new bill on April 16, and said they were trying to pass the women's bill, which he said was passed in 2023.
"In the so-called Women's Bill, delimitation was hidden. The idea was to reduce Tamil Nadu's representation in the Union of India... the delimitation move by BJP was to weaken the strength of southern states, small states, north eastern states," he alleged.
"We defeated in Parliament, a bill in which delimitation was hidden; we defeated it to defend the idea of India."
Rahul added that India that is Bharat, is a union of states, and every single state should have a voice, be free to express itself, and protect its tradition.
