Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Mar 13: State minister Govind Karjol stressed that Congress leaders like Verappa Moily and Oscar Fernandes, who have been supporting the step motherly attitude of the union government towards the state, and are keeping silence over the injustices faced by Karnataka, have lost their moral right to seek votes from the people here.

“Karnataka is facing power crisis. The union government is expected to provide 1,700 mw of power to the state, but currently, it has only been giving 1100 to 1200 mw of power. As such, we face a shortage of 600 mw of power. At the same time, the central government has been creating bottlenecks for proposals to set up new power plants in the state,” he charged, addressing a press conference here on Monday March 12.

He informed that the state is not getting enough coal to run its thermal power plants in Bellary and Raichur. “The centre, which is expected to maintain a stock of not less than three days requirement of coal here, has failed to do so, thereby affecting power production. Although we had sought interference by union ministers, S M Krishna, Mallikarjun Kharge, K M Muniyappa, and Veerappa Moily, they have failed to do anything,” he charged.

He also blamed the central government for failing to start railway projects in the state, even after the state had promised to provide land and meet 50 percent of project cost for the new railway projects.  He said that the central government has failed to take up programmes for the upliftment of the downtrodden people, and treating minorities just as vote banks.

He said that the Chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, has been functioning wonderfully, and that all the party leaders including B S Yeddyurappa are together.