Opposition slams BS Yediyurappa government for splurging money on ads to thank PM Modi

Bengaluru: Former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday slammed BJP government headed by B S Yediyurappa for "unnecessary spending" from its strained treasury on front-page advertisements in national and regional dailies, 'thanking' PM Modi and the Centre for the recent funding approval for two new phases of Bengaluru metro.

In a video statement recorded from a private hospital in Bengaluru, where he has been admitted for Covid-19 treatment, Kumaraswamy said I was "pained" on seeing the front pages of major Kannada and English dailies on Thursday. "The State government has tried to express gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Centre by spending crores of rupees. The Union Cabinet announcing funds for a development project to a State government should not be considered bhiksha (charity). It means what message is the government trying to convey at such a juncture when there are no sufficient beds, medical oxygen, and even medicines for the people (suffering from Covid-19)."

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Namma Metro's Phase 2A (ORR Line) and Phase 2B (Airport Line) totalling a length of 58.19 km at an estimated cost of Rs 14,788.1 crore. If all goes as planned, the project will be completed in five years. The proposal was included in the 2021-22 Union Budget Meanwhile, the Karnataka unit of the Indian National Congress, in a series of tweets, questioned the timing of the government's decision to spend on advertisements. With a collage of front pages of major English and Kannada newspapers, the tweet read, "There is no money to honour people battling corona (virus pandemic) in the State. There is no money to meet the demands of transport workers. There is no money for development work as well but how is there enough money to nurture expensive propaganda material."

At the same time, Lavanya Ballal, Congress national social media coordinator, tweeted, "Where did this money come from? Hospitals are running out of oxygen, people are dying due to lack of medicine, crematoriums are running out of space. But Viswa guru has time & money for ads."