Bengaluru, February 19: The Karnataka BJP launched a sharp attack on the Congress government on Thursday, citing ongoing protests by transport department employees and a waste management crisis in Bengaluru. They accused the government of financial mismanagement and administrative failure.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R. Ashok, spoke to the media in Bengaluru, stating that no department has received adequate funding since the Congress came to power.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy have indefinitely delayed addressing the demands of transport employees.
“The state treasury is empty. RTC employees are on strike demanding payment for dues pending for 38 months. Their legitimate demands should have been met by now. This delay reflects the government’s failure,” he said.
Ashok argued that if the government had funds, it should have paid the outstanding amounts either in installments or as a lump sum.
He claimed that the government acted only after the employees announced their protests, and now officials are preparing to release only 26 months of dues instead of the full 38 months. He noted that transport employees have rejected this proposal.
In response to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s accusation that the previous BJP government did not clear dues, Ashok challenged him to disclose the liabilities inherited in 2018. He referenced his tenure as transport minister from 2009 to 2013, insisting that if no dues were cleared during that time, the government should make that public.
He further accused the current government of transforming a profitable transport entity into a loss-making one. While acknowledging that transport corporations worldwide suffered losses due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, he deemed it unreasonable for the Congress government to use that period as an excuse. The crisis extends beyond just one department, as contractor associations are preparing to strike over pending payments, and excise contractors are also planning protests.
He warned, “The government will have to pay for the mistakes made over the past three years,” while demanding immediate action on the RTC employees’ requests.
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