Kalaburgi: After failing to bring Goa to the negotiating table on the Mahadayi water dispute, BJP national president Amit Shah on February 26 slipped into damage control role by making a fresh promise on the decades-old dispute: the party will work towards resolving the long-pending water dispute if they are voted to power in the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka.
“I assure the people of Karnataka that we will find a solution soon after coming to power in the state as it is easier to deal with such a sensitive issue when the same parties are at the helm,” Shah told reporters, wrapping up his two-day campaign to the Hyderabad-Karnatak region.
If the BJP is voted to power, Shah said there should be a favorable political atmosphere because the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had not been taking a pro-active approach to resolve the issue. “They want the issue to remain alive for political gain,” he added.
On the ongoing agitation of tur growers in Hyderabad-Karnatak area, who want the Center to place a ceiling on procurement of tur, Shah said the Union government has purchased 25.67 lakh quintals of tur with support price till now, but the Karnataka government has purchased only 1lakh quintals.
“Both the Union and state governments have equal responsibility in the interest of farmers. Many BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, have procured food-grains from their own resource and later claimed reimbursement from the Center. Karnataka should follow suit instead of playing the blame game,” he added.
On the controversial statements of Union minister Anantkumar Hegde on minority and Dalit communities, Shah said it is certainly not the BJP’s stand. Asked whether the party would initiate action against him, Shah said the party would discuss the matter.
Playing down the rift between BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa and senior leader K.S. Eshwarappa over a ticket to the latter, Shah said: “The party will decide on that. Media-persons need not worry about such things.”
Continuing his attack on Siddaramaiah’s government in the state, he earlier said the Karnataka government has “completely failed” in the past five years with respect to law and order, and has become synonymous with corruption.
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