Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Dec 7: State minister for forests and small scale industries, Vijaya Shankar, said here on Monday December 6, that the BJP will be giving a fitting reply to the malicious propaganda launched by the opposition against the government headed by it, by getting absolute majority in the ensuing zilla and taluk panchayat elections. He exuded confidence that his party will be able to register victory in  110 out of 170 taluk panchayats which will go to polls.

The minister was addressing a press conference here. He claimed that his party has proved its popularity among the masses by faring satisfactorily in the Lok Sabha and assembly by elections and also gram panchayat and cooperative institution elections after coming to power. “The people are happy about the past achievements, and the development agenda of our party,” he said.

He felt that acquiring land for various purposes  is a  normal process, and denotification of land does not amount to scam as such. “The Chief Minister, in   sanctioning sites to his own family members, had not violated any rules or norms. In order not to give leverage to his detractors to have a go at his reputation, he returned such land,” he clarified. At the same time, he asserted that Katta Subrahmanya Naidu had resigned from his post on moral grounds, and not because he was guilty. About not entrusting of the land scam cases to the Lokayukta, he said that Lokayukta is overburdened, and a judicial inquiry was ordered into the subject, as the government wants the work to be done within a set time frame. He felt that rather than questioning the move in ordering inquiry, it would be prudent, if pitfalls if any, observed during the course of inquiry are pointed out.

MLA, N Yogish Bhat, district BJP president, Padmanabha Kottary, former district president, Monappa Bhandary, chairman of Karnataka State Fisheries Development Corporation, Nitin Kumar, BJP leaders, Srikar Prabhu, Jagadish Adhikari and a number of other leaders were present.