Not just CM, but entire govt. is on wheelchair: BJP

The leadership tussle in the Congress, marked by statements by leaders of different camps, figured in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday with the BJP alleging that political insecurity had gripped the State, affecting administrative machinery.

The leadership tussle in the Congress, marked by statements by leaders of different camps, figured in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday with the BJP alleging that political insecurity had gripped the State, affecting administrative machinery.

“It is not just Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, but the entire government which is on a wheelchair due to political insecurity,” BJP member V. Sunil Kumar remarked, while participating in a debate on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address to the joint session of the State legislature.

“Such is the intensity of political insecurity that people have started wondering who is going to head the government after the presentation of State Budget,” he said, while maintaining that politically motivated statements of Ministers had fuelled leadership tussle in the government.

Alleging that Mr. Siddaramaiah was trying to create a record by being the Chief Minister with longest tenure in the State, he said: “It is not the longevity, but effectiveness and responsiveness of administration that matters.”

Seeking to distinguish the internal tussle in the BJP from the alleged internal tussle in the Congress government, the BJP member argued that the party’s tussle whether it was in the BJP or the Congress for the position of party State president was a matter confined to those parties alone. But the tussle in the government was a matter concerning people of the State as it would affect administration, he maintained.

He expressed concern over delay in release of funds for Gruha Laksmi scheme and alleged that it had become an “election Lakshmi” scheme as the government was releasing the funds for the scheme only during elections.

Taking exception to Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s claims that release of funds to Gruha Laksmi scheme had been delayed due to her ill health, the BJP leader wondered if the government’s administrative system was so weak as to depend solely on one minister.