Bangalore: Criminal cases against those indulging in moral policing: Shettar
 
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Feb 12: In a stern warning against the perpetrators of moral policing, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar declared in the State Legislative Assembly that the Government will file criminal cases against anybody taking law into their hands in the name of moral policing.

''Let the law enforcement agency take action if anybody has any complaints whatsoever,” Shettar said making it clear that nobody will be allowed to act against others in the name of moral policing.

He was replying to the debate in the Assembly on Tuesday on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint session of the State Legislature on February 4.

Anti-social activities or acts of moral policing would never be tolerated, he said pointing out that the Government has given strict instructions to the police to deal with incidents of moral policing.

Earlier, Congress opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah alleged that the law and order situation had totally collapsed in the coastal belt of the State. Some anti-social elements acted as moral police and have been attacking young girls.

Siddaramaiah held the BJP government squarely responsible for pushing the growth of the State backwards in the last five years and failing to ensure growth on all fiscal parameters.

“Jagadish Shettar has claimed that the financial position of the state is sound,” Siddaramaiah said and mentioned that the growth rate of gross state domestic product (GSDP) has alarmingly declined from 10.5 per cent in 2005-06 to 5.5 per cent in 2011-12.

''It is estimated to grow at 5.9 per cent for 2012-13 as per the official data.This shows that there is no growth and in such a scenario, how can one say that the financial status is sound,” Siddaramaiah asked.
 

Congmen Asked to Get Central Grants under PMGSY
 
The Chief Minister asked Congress members to exert more pressure on the UPA Government led by the Congress to grant funds for upgradation of rural roads in the State under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Shettar said the Centre had not sanctioned funds to the State for upgrading rural roads during the last four years.

The State was ready to share 25 per cent of the cost involved in rural road development works under the PMGSY, he said and urged the Congressmen to put pressure on the Centre.

Despite several pleas to the Centre and Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, the chief minister said the Centre had denied funds to the State and other states such as Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

“We are ready to even share 25 per cent of the cost if the Centre sanctions funds under the PMGSY. You (Congress members) please go and put pressure on the Centre to release funds to the State,” he said reminding them that the State Government had agreed to this condition but the Centre had not taken any initiative to release funds, he said.

Following denial of funds by the Centre, the State government has taken up road works under the Chief Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojana. Twenty kms road was laid in each assembly segment, Shettar said.

Stating that there was no substance in the Opposition charge that the State’s economy had gone bankrupt, Shettar said the borrowings of the Government were within the limits of the 13th finance commission.

The debt to GSDP ratio for the State was 22.6 per cent in 2012-13 against 23.88 per cent in 2007-08. The 13th commission had laid down the road map for reducing the debt to GSDP ratio for Karnataka to 25.2 per cent by the year 2014-15, he said.

The debt has grown in accordance with the size of the budget, he said and explained that the size of the State budget went up from Rs 63,840 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1.17 lakh crore in 2013-14. ''Is it not growth? Anybody who knows the ground reality knows the facts,” he contended.