BJP, Cong in race to claim credit for development works

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Mysore are engaged in a campaign of attacking each other, each trying to claim credit for the ongoing development programmes of Mysore.

It may be the projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) of the government of India or heritage and other development schemes of the Karnataka government, each wants to corner the honour for either initiating or expediting them.

The release of 27-point manifesto by Congress candidate Adagur H Viswanath, former district incharge minister, on Saturday, came handy for the BJP to attack his promises made in 12-page colourful booklet.

His promises cover MRTS transport system, technology park and export centre for Mysore, development of heritage centres, drinking water supply projects, promotion as tourist centres, fillip to plantation crops in Mysore-Kodagu districts, computer hardware park in Virajpet and airstrip and rail link for Madikeri.

Former MLC G Madhusudhan ridiculed the promises made by Viswanath and claimed that it was his party MP C H Vijayashankar, who scuttled the move to shift JNNURM project sanctioned for Mysore to Hubli and speeding up its implementation.

At a separate press meet later, former Congress minister Tanvir Sait refuted the BJP leader’s claim and said it was the Congress government at the Centre which had sanctioned the JNNURM scheme for Mysore and it was he who blocked it being shifted from Mysore, when he was the minister in the Dharm Singh Ministry. Madhusudhan dubbed Viswanath’s manifesto as an act of ‘plagarism’ of the BJP’s promises and had nothing new in it. It was the Yeddyurappa government, which had sanctioned Rs 100 crore special grant for development of Mysore and an engineering college for Madikeri upgrading the polytechnic there.

Vijayashankar was responsible for speeding up the Mandakalli airport modernisation, protecting the interests of tobacco cultivators and speeding up the JNNURM schemes like construction of modern bus stands and protection of heritage structures, the BJP leader claimed and said there was nothing new in the Congress candidate’s promises.

Rejecting the BJP’s claim, Sait said the present BJP Government was only continuing the works sanctioned by the previous Congress governments and the JNNURM projects granted by the Centre. The Congress-administered Mysore City Corporation was carrying these on.

He accused the Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy coalition government for letting down the interests of Mysore and the State and evincing no interest in execution of various schemes and projects. “Yeddyurappa’s budget has not mentioned a word about JNNURM projects of Mysore,” he criticised.

On the other hand, it had bungled on the ration card issue causing hardship to the people, failed to utilise funds sanctioned to the State, ignored the welfare of dalits, backward classes and minorities and was responsible for rise in prices of foodgrains, he charged.

Accusing the BJP of making false claims, the Congress leader challenged the BJP MP to come for a public discussion on the issue.