BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra Accuses Congress of Misleading Public on ESA Notification
Tirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra alleges the Congress is misleading the public on the Western Ghats ESA notification and urges a ground survey to exclude habitations and farmland.
Former Minister and Tirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra has accused the Congress of misleading the public over the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) notification for the Western Ghats, alleging that the party is doing so for political reasons.
Speaking at a press conference in Shivamogga on Thursday, the BJP legislator said the committees led by Prof. Madhav Gadgil and K. Kasturirangan were both constituted while the Congress was in power at the Centre. The first notification inviting public objections was also issued during the United Progressive Alliance's tenure, he said, and accused Congress leaders of concealing these facts from the public.
Mr. Jnanendra took aim at former Minister Kimmane Rathnakar, saying he stayed silent when the Congress government set up the committees but was now raising the issue to target the BJP-led Central government.
He also questioned School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa's grasp of the subject, suggesting he study it before commenting.
On the way forward, the MLA said the State government should carry out a ground survey, on the lines of the model followed in neighbouring Kerala, to identify human habitations and farmland that should be excluded from the ESA's ambit. Criticising the Centre on the matter served no purpose, he added.
Mr. Jnanendra welcomed Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's decision to convene a special legislature session on the issue, saying all party members would join the debate. The State government, he said, would have to arrive at a decision by taking all parties into confidence.
Turning to the completion of 100 days of the Shivakumar-led government, he said it had no notable achievement to show. Those in power were misusing the people's mandate and corruption had peaked, he alleged.