Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SM/SP)
Udupi, Jun 20: Former MLA, K Raghupati Bhat, branded the union government led by UPA as a government of failures. “The central government has tasted failure in every conceivable front. Its only achievement we can think of, is skyrocketing prices of essential goods,” he mocked.
Bhat was addressing the protestors who had taken part in a protest meeting organized on Wednesday June 19 near the service bus stand here under the aegis of the district unit of BJP, to protest against rising prices.
“Under the UPA, prices of almost all the goods have witnessed a four to five-fold jump. Lives of middle class people have been turned hellish because of this situation. Basic reason for this situation is the lure of the ministers towards making money by way of commission through export and import of goods,” Bhat said.
He criticized the union finance minister for laying bare the economic situation of the country before people by advising them not to buy gold. He said that gold has always been a part and parcel of a woman's life in India, and that women here have always treated gold as an investment to insure against future financial crises. He accused the central government of not continuing with good schemes started by the erstwhile BJP government. He requested Oscar Fernandes to ensure that the incomplete stretches of the national highway widening work in the twin-districts is completed as soon as possible. The other items he harped upon were non-release of funds under 13th finance commission and tardy progress under ambitious Grama Sadak scheme.
BJP district president, Uday Kumar Shetty, and former Kaup MLA, Lalaji R Mendon, also blamed the UPA government for its failure to contain price rise. Uday Kumar Shetty accused the central and state governments of allowing foodgrains worth thousands of crores of rupees to go waste.
Udupi zilla panchayat president, Upendra Nayak, immediate past president, Katapadi Shankar Poojary, former president of Coastal Development Authority, Vikramarjun Hegde, former taluk panchayat president, Devadas Hebbar, zilla panchayat member, Geetanjali Suvarna, municipal councilor, Sumitra Nayak, and several other leaders were present.