“There is no dissidence in the Congress. If any of our MLAs are raising their voices, it is for the development of their constituencies and not because they want to become Ministers,” Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa said in Hubballi on Sunday. “None of our MLAs will join the BJP. Our government is safe and stable. It will complete its term,” he said.
Dr. Mahadevappa said that leaders like MLA Basavaraj Rayaraddi who are expressing their displeasure with the government are not after power.
“They are mature individuals and veteran leaders who are only worried about the welfare of the people of their constituency. Mr. Rayaraddi has a lot of knowledge. He knows how to handle various situations and manage officials to see that the government programmes are properly implemented,” he said.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will solve such problems. The Chief Minister is surely not upset that some MLAs are writing letters, the Minister said.
To a query, Dr. Mahadevappa said that BJP leaders like B.L. Santosh are giving irresponsible statements about dividing the Congress and poaching MLAs.
The people of the State have stripped the BJP of power and the party leaders feel that they are left on the street. The situation is so deplorable that it has not been able to appoint a Leader of Opposition. “This is the longest time in the history of the State that we have gone without a Leader of Opposition,” he said.
The BJP has lost morality and public support due to Operation Lotus several times in the past. The BJP has never formed a government in the State on its own. It did not have a majority in 2008 or 2018. That is because it never met the aspirations of the people. It came to power only through such operations. But what was the impact of that? It dissolved democratically elected governments and failed to provide good governance, he said.
He said that the Cauvery river water sharing issue is a century-old dispute and there are established procedures for dealing with rain-scarcity years. “Our dam storage is less as there has been no rain. We will request the courts to consider all such developments before taking any action. We are hopeful of finding a solution,” he said.
He reiterated that SCP and TSP scheme funds are not diverted for implementing the Congress guarantees. The money will be used for various programmes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he added.
According to him, ₹34,000 crore was allocated under the SCP and TSP schemes for welfare programmes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This includes ₹24,000 crore for Scheduled Castes and ₹8,000 crore for Scheduled Tribes.
