From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jun 29: The isolation of Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda within the ruling BJP in Karnataka seems to be complete with barely a few ministers and legislators rooting for him while a major chunk of the legislators, including several ministers rallying behind former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is bent upon disolodging him from power despite the BJP high command’s ''cease fire.”

As if the presence of just a few ministers and a couple of MLAs during his widely attended media conference on the BJP Government’s 4-year rule in the State and the release of a glossy 150-page book titled, ''4 Years of All Embracing Performance,” in Vidhana Soudha on Thursday afternoon, which did not receive any applause or appreciation from any quarters including ruling partymen, the chief minister received nothing but brickbats from the opposition parties.

Both the KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar, a sitting MLA, and the Congress Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah, who held separate press conferences trashed the performance report presented by D V Sadananda Gowda as ''total bunkum and nothing but hogwash.” Rubbing salt to the bruised ego of the chief minister, Siddaramaiah demanded immediate dissolution of the State assembly and fresh elections as the BJP Government had totally failed while the State Congress president sought a comprehensive white paper on the Government’s performance on all fronts.

Siddaramaiah dismissed the entire performance report on the Government’s four-year rule as ''pathetic” and said the people were fed up with the scandals and scams that pervaded the entire administration. ''It is a record in the entire State that a sitting chief minister was indicted by the Lokayukta and rapped by the judiciary. Apart from Yeddyurappa being forced to quit and subsequently undergo a three-week jail term and CBI inquiry on the orders of the Supreme Court, several of his colleagues were had been forced to resign and subsequently jailed. One of the most powerful ministers, who claimed to have bankrolled the entire BJP Government during elections and subsequently, is still behind bars after being forced to quit. Is this the performance that the chief minister is bragging about?,” he asked.

The Congress opposition leader challenged the government to immediately dissolve the assembly and seek a fresh mandate if the chief minister was so confident of having given an all embracing performance that has caught the imagination of the people. The Government had completely failed in tackling the problems of the people, especially the severe drought, and the ministers and legislators were busy in playing their power games. While Gowda is engaged in saving his chair, Yeddyurappa is interested in toppling the man hand-picked by him and installing the same person, whom he had opposed tooth and nail from the beginning. The ruling party MLAs keep themselves busy in jumping from one faction to another and trying to grab a slice of the cake, he said.

The failure of monsoon and the drought situation has added to the miseries of the people. Unemployment, price rise of all essential commodities had made the life of people miserable. The Government has totally lost its credibility and had no right to continue in power, he said pointing out that the chief minister, who is overburdened with as many as 20 major departments and 11 vacant ministerial berths, had lost complete control over the administration.

The KPCC chief criticised the Government for its failure to implement the Central schemes, especially the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and contended that not even half the Central grants were fully utilised.

Dr Parameshwar said the latest report of the Accountant General on the State's finances for the year ending March 31, 2011, was a telling commentary on the Government’s dismal record and mentioned that utilization certificates had not been filed in 2,814 cases involving Rs.1,646.47 crore. The CAG had also observed several deficiencies and 172 cases of misappropriation cases in the works, but the government had not taken action against any officers and delay in submitting contingency bills in 18,000 cases, he added.

Dr Parameshwara said that the CAG had detected non-reconciliation of accounts in the case of 14 per cent of the Rs.83,000 crore budgetary expenditure during last year and surprised how the chief minister claims that the performance was good. The government had failed to fulfill its promise of constructing 56,000 houses Asare houses for the flood-hit families in north Karnataka region, even though the centre had paid Rs.1,700 crore for the purpose.

The BJP government had identified 240 villages, which were inundated during the floods and wanted to shift then for safer places, but failed to shift even one, he said and pointed out that a white paper would bring out the truth.

The two Congress leaders took the Government to task for wasting precious resources by publishing huge newspaper advertisements and glossy books.