Intro : Misuse of taxpayers’ money to incite people against the Central Government alleged
BENGALURU
BJP State president and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led State government, accusing it of misusing public funds to publish misleading advertisements aimed at inciting people against the Central Government.
Addressing the media, Vijayendra said the State government had released front-page newspaper advertisements “filled entirely with false information”. He said there would have been no objection had the Congress party issued such advertisements using its own party funds. “But misusing taxpayers’ money to provoke people against the Central Government is an unpardonable crime,” he alleged.
Vijayendra said the Congress government had “no sense of shame or dignity” and strongly objected to advertisements targeting the Centre over the VBG Ramji Act. He alleged that the advertisements deliberately attempted to spread falsehoods and mislead the people of Karnataka.
“The Congress has no respect for Mahatma Gandhi. Through these advertisements, the government has recklessly tried to convey completely false information and is attempting to create anarchy in the State,” he said. He accused the ruling party of falsely portraying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government had insulted Mahatma Gandhi.
Challenging the Congress leadership, Vijayendra said, “Let Priyank Kharge publish his achievements as a front-page advertisement. Let the State government publish its own achievements, whatever they are. Instead of doing that, it is wrong to spread false messages against the Prime Minister and the Centre.”
He further questioned the moral authority of the Congress to invoke Mahatma Gandhi’s name, especially when the government, according to him, was struggling to mobilise funds for its own guarantee schemes while proposing an increase of 600–700 bar licences in the State.
“They do not have even an iota of concern for Mahatma Gandhi. These Congress leaders appear unworthy and incompetent. Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi, foreseeing such tendencies, had advised dissolving the Congress party after Independence,” Vijayendra remarked.
Accusing the government of lacking achievements, he said the hurriedly convened legislative session and the publication of such advertisements were attempts to divert attention from administrative failures and shortcomings. “By wasting public money and spreading falsehoods, the government is pushing the State towards disorder. Such advertisements are dangerous to the democratic system,” he alleged.
Vijayendra demanded that the money used for the advertisements, reportedly drawn from the Rural Development Department, be recovered and reimbursed from Congress party funds. “If that is done, we are ready to respond. We will not allow taxpayers’ money to be squandered in this manner,” he asserted.