No development under new coalition govt: BJP

• Only Rs. 2,280 crore has been spent on various development works
• The agrarian distress in the State continues to claim lives

Kalburgi: Development work has come to a standstill after the Janata Dal(S)-Congress coalition government came to power in the State, said BJP State unit president and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly B.S. Yeddyurappa on Thursday a dig at the successive chairpersons of the Hyderabad Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB) for not utilising the funds received in the last five years for the development of the region.

Though the Congress government in the State had allocated Rs. 4,380 crore bewteen 2013-14 and 2017-18 to HKRDB, only Rs. 2,280 crore has been spent on various development works, he pointed.

Speaking with press persons, Mr. Yeddyurappa accused Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of just doing lip service by announcing crop loan waiver for farmers and said that there is no progress and clarity on loan waiver even three weeks after the decision was taken. The agrarian distress in the State continues to claim lives, he added.

BSY remained tight-lipped about the BJP’s future moves but rubbished the allegations made by Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar that the Opposition party was trying to poach his party MLAs. He also remained silent when asked whether the coalition government in the State will complete its full term.

Confronting the question on his stand on statehood for North Karnataka, Mr. Yeddyurappa recalled the struggle by many Kannada stalwarts who sacrificed themselves for the sake of the Ekikarna movement and asked the people of North Karnataka not to allow separatist sentiments to take over.