'Opposition Parties have No Moral Rights to Criticise BJP Govt'
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Dec 15: Making it clear that the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP regime was committed to holding the elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) or Greater Bangalore City Corporation Council as per the schedule already announced by Karnataka’s State Election Commission in February, state transport minister R Ashok declared that all the anomalies in the reservation of wards will be sorted out in the next three to four days.

Ashok, who is also the Bangalore urban district in-charge minister, told reporters on Tuesday that the government would submit a revised ward reservation list to the Karnataka high court as also the State Election Commission for approval so as to avoid any further delays.

It may be recalled that the state high court had directed the state government, while hearing a batch writ petitions challenging the poll schedule announced by the State Election Commission, to take immediate steps to rectify the defects and anomalies in the ward reservation list within a fortnight.

The minister said the ruling BJP as well as the state government were determined to ensure that the BBMP elections were held as per the schedule on February 21 announced by the State election Commission.

The State Election Commission had announced that elections to the BBMP would be held on February 21.
Terming the Opposition’s allegations on the delay of holding BBMP polls as ``rubbish,’’ he said the BJP, which came to power 18 months ago, initiated the process for holding the polls by ward delimitation work and reservation of wards.

"The Opposition Congress or JD(S) parties have no moral rights to criticise the State Government,’’ he said pointing out that the three-year delay on holding the BBMP polls was on account of both Congress and JD(S).
In a related development, Kannada Development Authority chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru, who is also a BJP MLC, has urged the state presidents of ruling BJP, Congress and JD(S) as also chief minister B S Yeddyurappa besides all other political outfits and organisations to field only Kannada speaking candidates in the ensuing BBMP polls.
Speaking to reporters, he disclosed that he had personally written to all the political parties and their leaders to allow only those candidates who are able to read and write Kannada and have commitment to protect the Kannada language to contest the BBMP polls.

He has also appealed to the electorate of Bangalore to exercise their franchise in favour of Kannada-speaking candidates if the state’s official language of Kannada was not to suffer in Karnataka’s capital with nearly two-thirds of non-Kannada speaking people residing in the city.

The Transport minister said a draft on sand extraction policy was submitted to the Law Department for detailed examination and closer scrutiny.

The draft policy has been prepared in consultation with Public Works and Mines and Geology Departments to resolve the problems regarding environment, extraction of sand under bridges and damage to roads.

The new policy, drafted on lines of the one that exists in Tamil Nadu, assumes importance in the light of the High Court staying the issue of temporary permits to transport sand, he said.

Meanwhile, he said the State Transport Department had launched computerised inter-state permit system which would help eliminating bogus permits of passenger and goods vehicles.

With the implementation of computerisation permits of nearly 50,000 goods vehicles and 6,000 passenger vehicles, the minister said the vehicle owners would get their permits on the spot without any delay with regard to newly registered vehicles.

The data entries would be completed soon and computerised permits will be issued to old vehicles as and when they come to the office of the Karnataka State Transport Authority to update their documents.

Besides bringing in transparency in the administration, the computerisation would help to plug the revenue leakage to the department. The new system would also reduce administrative cost and enables electronic payment of charges, he added.