Bengaluru, Feb 27 (IANS) Karnataka BJP on Friday claimed that the development of the state has been completely neglected, as there is a tug-of-war going on between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over the leadership of the state.

“Due to this internal tug-of-war, development has been completely neglected. The power struggle between the two has created confusion in the state,” claimed Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka while addressing a press conference after he visited the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) unit in Channapatna as part of the Save Mysuru Silk campaign.

Notably, Shivakumar has claimed that there is a power-sharing pact between him and Siddaramaiah, while Siddaramaiah has retaliated that he is being targeted because he hails from the backward class.

“People are actually enjoying this comedy. The November revolution has begun, and the Congress is in total disarray,” claimed Ashoka.

He said that when Congress announced guarantee schemes during the elections, they had no idea about their consequences.

“The Yuva Nidhi scheme has already been halted. Transport employees are protesting because of the Shakti scheme,” he claimed.

On the protest by government job aspirants, he said that the government is playing with students by not issuing government job appointment orders.

“Though we fought for 2.84 lakh posts, the government has issued orders for the recruitment of only 56,000 posts. The government must tell us when it will issue orders for the remaining appointments,” he said.

On the construction of the cricket stadium, the Karnataka LoP said that the land is available to start a cricket stadium, adding that the government has identified wasteland to build party offices in every taluk.

“Yet they claim there is no land for a stadium. The stadium is being built on the factory land purely out of greed for commissions and to shut down KSIC,” he said.

He said he visited the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) as part of the Save Mysore Silk campaign.

“This organisation’s silk has received a GI tag and is a matter of pride for the Mysore and Chamarajanagar region. Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar went to England, saw silk sarees there, brought machines from Switzerland, and started the industry here. He established this unit so that silk farmers here would benefit,” he said.

He said that there are around 400 workers in the central factory at Channapatna, adding that the yarn-spinning factory at T. Narasipur is spread over 13 acres, out of which 6 acres have already been transferred to the Sports Department.

Ashoka said that in Channapatna, 1,400 sarees are produced in a month and they sell out in a single day, adding that the same saree is offered to the presiding deity of the state, Goddess Chamundeshwari.

–IANS

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