From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 5: Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru on Sunday and BJP National President Amit Shah had earlier dubbed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka as "most corrupt" and attacked the Siddu regime for the alleged "murders" of BJP-RSS activists, Karnataka’s Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was all praise for the government in his address to the joint session of Karnataka legislature on Monday.

Incidentally, Vala was appointed as Karnataka governor by the Modi regime and all the three – Prime Mnister Narendra Modi, BJP President Am Shah and Karnataka Governor Vala – are from Gujarat and worked together before Modi and Shah moved to Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed the Karnataka Parivartan Rally organised by State BJP under the leadership of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s three-month-long state-wide yatra at the sprawling Bengaluru Palace Grounds on Sunday evening, had denounced the Siddu regime as the "most corrupt" and also alleged based on what he was told by "some people as a 10% commission government" besides lambasting the Congress government for what he described as "ease of committing murders" (of BJP/RSS Hindu activists). BJP National President Amit Shah, who had addressed the Parivartan Rally in Mysuru recently had also lambasted the Siddaramaiah government in the harshest language and had even asked the Chief Minister to "give an account of the Rs 3 lakh crore amount" released by the Modi government. The Prime Minister had also raised the same issue but scaled down the amount of Central grants to Rs 2 lakh crore plus over a four-year period.

"My Government continues to fight corruption in public services," declared Vala as the Constitutional head of the State Government and went on to mention in Hindi that a series of e-governance initiatives "have increased transparency and efficiency of public service."

The Governor said the Congress government had set up an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to "effectively deal with corruption cases" and pointed out that "awareness is being created regarding the working of ACB by conducting public awareness meetings at District, Taluk and Village levels from time to time and legal action is initiated without delay on the receipt of complaints." Since the ACB was set up, the Governor said 278 trap cases, 65 raid cases and 61 other cases totalling 404 were registered and prosecution sanction has been given 72 out of the 106 cases received by the Government.

On the law and order situation, the Governor said: "My Government has taken effective steps to maintain law and or4der and ensured communal harmony and public order. Sporadic incidents of communal violence has been firmly dealt with."

While both Modi and Shah were deliberately silent on the vexed issue of sharing of Krishna basin and Mahadayi river waters for drinking water and irrigation purposes in the Lingayat-predominant Northern Karnataka region as also on the Cauvery water, which is quite an emotive issue in the Vokkaliga-dominant Old Mysuru region and also in Bengaluru, the Governor said, "My Government reiterates its commitment to ensuring justice to the State in availing of its just needs of water in the Cauvery and Krishna basins. It will continue to make all efforts to ensure its rightful share of water to our people from the Mahadayi basin."

The Governor’s address to the joint session dwelt at length on the plans of the government, whose terms ends by May and praised the government for implementing various schemes to provide social security to 56.57 lakh beneficiaries including senior citizens, destitute widows, persons with disabilities and below the poverty line among the various programmes to the welfare and development of poor, besides detailing its achievements. "My government has made notable progress in reaching the goal of hunger-free Karnataka," he said.

Explaining the progress on the "controversial" and the long awaited Yettinahole drinking water project; the Governor said, "First phase lift component works of Yettinahole drinking water project are taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 3,716 crore under 5 packages. He also mentioned the two major projects for utilizing treated sewage water from Bengaluru city for filling of tanks in Kolara and Chikkaballapura districts so as to raise ground water levels are being implemented expeditiously.

He did not forget to mention achievements of the government in protection of wildlife. "Karnataka has the largest number of tigers in the country numbering 406 and also has about 6072 elephants constituting 25 per cent of population of elephants in the country.

The Governor offered lavish compliments to the government for its various pro-people, women, youth and minority oriented schemes, farmer-friendly initiatives including Krishi Bhagya, implementation of the Dr D M Nanjundappa panel report, Karnataka Raitha Suraksha Pradhana Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojane and weather-based crop insurance scheme besides Pashu Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya, Ksheera Dare, Matsya Krishi Asha Kirana, Matsya Ashraya, Vidyasiri, Nali-Kali, Arivu, Mathrupoorna, Arogya Bhagya and Kashalya Karnataka Yojane.