Gadkari's latest: A transgender might bear children but a project won't be completed
Mumbai, Dec 23: Union minister Nitin Gadkari Sunday said "even a transgender would bear children but an irrigation scheme in Maharashtra's Sangli district would never be completed".
The BJP leader's comments came on a day he accused a section of the media of "twisting" his remarks on "leadership owning up to defeat" which he had made in Pune Saturday.
"The economic viability of the Tembhu lift irrigation scheme was so difficult ... that once I had shared my views with a person over it . I had said that even a transgender would bear children but this irrigation scheme will never be completed," Gadkari said while addressing a rally in Sangli in western Maharashtra, around 375 kms from here.
The lift irrigation project is about fetching water from the Krishna river basin and irrigating the arid region of Sangli district to increase agriculture production.
Gadkari was attending the event to mark completion of irrigation works of the fourth stage of the lift-irrigation scheme. The construction work of the fifth stage is expected to be completed soon.
The Tembhu lift irrigation project was administratively approved in 1996 for Rs 1,416.59 crore. The project envisages lifting of 22.12 TMC water from the Krishna river to irrigate 80,472 hectares of land in Satara, Sangli and Solapur districts.
Addressing an event in Pune, Gadkari had said, "Leadership should have the 'vrutti' (tendency) to own up the defeat and failures. Loyalty of the leadership towards the organisation will not be proved till the time it owns up responsibility for defeat."
The remarks had come days after the BJP's dismal show in elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
However, he Sunday said the BJP is going to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the media of "twisting" his remarks.
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Power struggle in ruling Cong has 'created massive confusion' in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
