LoP accuses govt of debt, price rise and internal turmoil

Bengaluru: Karnataka Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress government, accusing it of failing on governance, fuelling price rise and burdening the state with unprecedented levels of loans. He was addressing a press conference at the BJP state headquarters in Malleswaram after releasing a video titled “Two-and-a-Half Years of Burden on Kannadigas – Exposing Congress Governance”. Ashoka alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has pushed the state into severe financial stress, borrowing over ₹2 lakh crore, the highest by any government in Karnataka’s history.

He said the government has raised prices of petrol, diesel, milk, electricity, registration fees and excise duties, making essential commodities costlier. “In just one year, this government has become the number one anti-people administration. They are champions only in loans, corruption and scandals,” he charged.

Taking a dig at Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Ashoka said he was reportedly unwell and resting at home while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was “issuing threats of expulsion” to MLAs in Delhi. He cited reports suggesting that legislators who met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi were expressing discontent with Siddaramaiah’s leadership. “If your own MLAs go to Delhi and complain, how can the Chief Minister say there is no unrest?” he asked.

Ashoka claimed there is widespread speculation within the Congress and among the public that there was a two-and-a-half-year rotational Chief Ministership agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. “People want to know what the agreement is. Let Kharge or Rahul Gandhi clearly state whether Siddaramaiah will complete five years. Nobody is ready to say it openly. Everything is spoken only within four walls,” he said.