Bengaluru, Feb 19: BJP’s R. Ashok led a blistering assault on Karnataka’s Congress rulers, decrying fund shortages plaguing departments amid transport unrest and trash pileups. The opposition leader’s media briefing exposed alleged mismanagement under Siddaramaiah.
“Adequate funds absent since Congress’s ascent,” Ashok charged, focusing on Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s inaction on worker pleas.
Strikers demand 38 months’ arrears from RTC. “Government’s broke,” he quipped. “Just demands ignored—proof of ineptitude. Funds would mean phased or full clearance.”
Ashok slammed reactive steps: 26-month tenders post-threats, rejected outright. Deflecting Reddy’s BJP blame, he urged revealing 2018 burdens and 2009-2013 accounts from his watch.
He lambasted the shift of RTC from profits to deficits, calling COVID a worn pretext. Unrest proliferates—contractor strikes brew, excise demos inbound.
“Three-year follies demand reckoning,” Ashok prophesied, insisting on prompt RTC fixes. With services faltering, his tirade fuels opposition momentum in the state.