Probe into Krishi Bhagya scheme 'vindictive': Congress

The Congress in Karnataka on Sunday termed as "vindictive politics" the probe ordered by the state government into the alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 921 crore in the Krishi Bhagya scheme, when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had recently ordered the inquiry into the works carried out in the fiscal 2014-15 and 2017-18, chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar told PTI.

According to official sources, as many as 2,15,130 tanks were constructed in 131 taluks of the state at an expenditure of Rs 921 crore. The objective of Krishi Bhagya scheme project was to sustain agriculture round the year in the arid zones of the state and ensure regular income to the cultivators.

However, the state government has doubts over the money spent on this project, and suspects that it was siphoned off, the sources said. The inquiry has irked the Congress, which called it "vindictive politics." "The entire governing culture of BJP is based on vindictiveness and digging the past and conducting the so-called inquiry," Congress spokesperson K E Radhakrishna told PTI.

Noting that there was nothing wrong in conducting inquiry if some serious lapses have taken place, the Congress leader cast doubts over the intentions behind ordering the investigation. "They (BJP) don't have any alternative programme to offer, so they indulge in so-called inquiry activities," Radhakrishna alleged.

He claimed that all the programmes launched by Siddaramaiah such as Anna Bhagya, Krishi Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya to the extent of almost 80 per cent have reached the beneficiaries. "The BJP wants to stall all those (programmes) because they are running a morally bankrupt government," he said..

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