It's actually a 30% sarkar, says BJP

Bengaluru Feb 6: Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "understated" the percentage of commission the Congress government allegedly charges to clear projects.

"It's actually 30% and not 10% as the prime minister said," Gowda told reporters. "This includes 10% advance and another 20% at the time of billing."

BJP leader and former minister C T Ravi concurred. "If we knew Modi was going to talk about commissions, we would have informed him that it can go up to 23% at the time of bill payment," he said.

Gowda also hit out at Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on the law and order situation in the state. "When we ask him to focus on the situation here, why does he refer to Uttar Pradesh? After Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister there, things have improved," he said.

On the Mahadayi issue, Gowda said it was former Congress president Sonia Gandhi who had politicised the issue. "When Amit Shah came forward to solve the issue, the Congress tried to politicise it. Our stand is that the issue has to be resolved outside the tribunal."

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar mocked the ruling Congress for putting up hoardings in the city, claiming the state was top ranked in industrial investments. "This is a lie. Only 15.7% of the investments have been realised so far," he said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Council K S Eshwarappa accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of violating protocol during Modi's visit. "As chief minister, he did not show the basic courtesy of receiving the prime minister," he said.