Gulbarga: Rejecting as "baseless" Congress'
allegation that the state's financial position was in
doldrums, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Monday
asserted that it was "strong enough" and that the Reserve Bank
of India itself had expressed satisfaction about it.
"The government has been implementation several welfare
schemes for the last 18 months by spending thousands of crores
of rupees which proves that the financial position of the
state is strong," he told a press conference here.
Yeddyurappa explained that over 1.32 crore families under
BPL category were being provided various welfare benefits.
"If the state's financial position is not good how can we
do it?" he said and asked the opposition party not to make
"baseless allegations".
The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio,
said he would strive to make the next budget a surplus one
keeping in mind the Centre's guidelines that the deficit
should be below four per cent.
Admitting that there was a huge gap between power
generation and consumption, Yeddyurappa said the government
had made arrangements for buying 250 MW electricity from
neighbouring states. Efforts were also on to buy another 200
MW to ensure uninterrupted supply keeping in mind the coming
examinations for students next month.
Highlighting the government's initiatives in the IT
sector, particularly in Bangalore, Yeddyurappa said the IT
Park at Jevanahalli was the biggest of its kind in the country
as over Rs one lakh crore was being invested by
multinationals. It would create enormous job opportunities.
Ridiculing Congress leaders Mallikharjun Kharge and N
Dharam Singh, he said though they had been representing the
Gulbarga district for several decades, it was the BJP-led
Government which had taken up development works, allocating
huge funds.
Later, he laid the foundation stone of a housing scheme,
a flagship programme of the state government.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 01, 2010, 23:41