 "No funds for development work in constituencies: D K Shivakumar to MLAs")
Asserting that the government's top priority will be to fulfil the five pre-poll promises made by the Congress party, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday ruled out the allocation of funds for development work in the state's Assembly constituencies this year.
Shivakumar's statement comes a day after a letter from 10 MLAs of the ruling Congress to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that ministers were not paying heed to the MLAs' requests and that funds allocated for their constituencies were not being released. News agency PTI reported that a section of Congress legislators had complained to the chief minister that they have not been able to get work done in their constituencies and that transfers of government servants, as requested, had not taken place.
Speaking to reporters, the deputy chief minister said, "We will not be able to provide for development this year. We will not be able to provide -- in the irrigation department or PWD department, but there is a huge expectation (from MLAs). We have asked them to wait."
Shivakumar stated that efforts will be made to ensure that the MLAs, who have huge expectations, understand the situation and remain patient. Shivakumar said, "The previous BJP government has led the state into bankruptcy. We now have the responsibility of correcting their mistakes and arranging funds for our [poll] guarantees."
Congress will fulfil the promises by implementing the guarantees in the first year itself and the MLAs should remain patient, he said, adding that emergency works will surely be taken up.
The Congress leader has dismissed the letter as fake. BR Patil, a legislator whose name appears on the letterhead, questioned the legitimacy of the letter and accused the BJP of "creating" it, NDTV reported.
(With inputs from agencies)
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