Housing allotment, BJP, JDS members allege discrimination

BJP and JDS members today alleged discrimination in allotment of houses under government schemes to the constituencies won by the opposition members and staged dharna in the Karnataka Assembly.
The members, however, withdrew their protest after Housing Minister M H Ambareesh assured the House that government will start the process of allotting houses to all constituencies within a week's time after the extended budgetary session.
The Minister said there was no dearth of funds to provide shelter to the homeless poor across the state.
Earlier, Opposition Leader Jagadish Shettar, said the government was allotting houses under various schemes only to those constituencies won by Congress legislators.

"The government was allotting most of the 50,000 houses under Aashraya scheme only in the assembly segments won by the Congress, and ignored 80-odd seats where the BJP and the JDS members had won in the last Assembly polls," he said.
Intervening, Ambareesh said there was nothing wrong in allotting houses to the poor in those constituencies where Congress had won, which the BJP had done to the constituencies where their legislators had won during their rule.

"Now, we (Congress) are ruling and there is nothing wrong to allot houses in constituencies where Congress legislators had won. What is wrong if we do it because they have voted us to power," he argued, evoking protests.

The opposition members then trooped into the well of the House and staged a dharna, demanding that the minister take back his words or apologise.
Following pandemonium, Speaker Kagodu Thimappa adjourned the proceedings for a while. When the House proceedings resumed, Ambareesh did not apologise but assured to allot houses to all constituencies irrespective of political representatives affiliations.