Hubli
Minister Santosh Lad questioned the BJP’s decision to organize a padayatra while the government is investigating the alleged MUDA and Valmiki Corporation scams. Lad stated that the government has already taken immediate action on both issues. He noted that Nagendra resigned as a minister due to the Valmiki Corporation scam, and now CID, ED, and CBI are conducting investigations. An investigation into the MUDA scam has also been initiated.
Lad challenged the BJP to acknowledge that the MUDA scam occurred during its tenure and criticized them for planning a padayatra despite being given seven hours in the assembly session to address the issue, which they did not use.
He criticized the opposition for demanding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s resignation. Lad defended Siddaramaiah, stating that he has allocated Rs 60,000 crore for guarantee schemes and is popular, as evidenced by Congress winning 136 seats in the assembly elections. Lad accused BJP and JD(S) leaders of being unable to accept Siddaramaiah’s popularity.
Lad also alleged that the Union government is unfairly withholding flood relief funds from Karnataka. He mentioned that Rs 50,000 crore was allocated to two states in the Union budget, but Karnataka received no funds. Lad remarked that the state only received funds after approaching the Supreme Court before the Lok Sabha elections.
In response to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s tweet about increasing farmer suicides in Karnataka, Lad criticized Joshi for his lack of responsibility and questioned whether tweeting would solve the issue.
