Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Dec 23: BJP MLAs staged a boycott of the KDP meeting at the zilla panchayat on Saturday, December 23, citing dissatisfaction over the state government’s failure to release funds for projects in Dakshina Kannada (DK) and its inability to introduce new initiatives for the district.

The boycott was led by BJP MLAs Harish Poonja, Vedavyas Kamath, Dr Bharath Y Shetty, Rajesh Naik, MP Capt Brijesh Chowta, and MLC Kishore Kumar. The legislators accused the government of neglecting the district by not allocating sufficient funds and showing bias against Dakshina Kannada.

The meeting, chaired by district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundurao, saw BJP MLAs raising concerns about several issues. Harish Poonja and Dr Bharath Y. Shetty specifically criticized the government's failure to release funds for urgent road repairs, including filling potholes. They also highlighted the absence of new development projects in the district over the past two years.

In response, minister Gundurao instructed officials to address the concerns raised by the legislators. However, the BJP MLAs continued their protests.

The situation escalated when minister Gundurao accused the MLAs of attending the meeting merely to complain rather than seeking constructive solutions. This led to a heated exchange involving Gundurao, BJP MLAs, and MLC Ivan D'Souza. Following this, the BJP MLAs walked out of the meeting in protest.

Expressing his disappointment, Gundurao criticized the boycott, calling it inappropriate for the MLAs to leave without addressing the issues they had brought up.