Karnataka delegation for rly projects

An all-party delegation from Karnataka will soon call on Railways minister Lalu Prasad, urging him to speed up pending railway projects in the state, chief minister Dharam Singh said here on Friday.

Sharing the concerns of opposition members over the lack of adequate railway development in Karnataka, Singh said he will also take up the matter with minister of state for railways R Velu, who is scheduled to visit Bangalore on Saturday.

Singh's intervention came when Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri (BJP) expressed concern over Velu's reply in Parliament on Thursday that Hubli-Ankola railway line was not covered in the railway ministry's project to link major ports.

Singh pointed out that former prime minister A B Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone for the project about three years ago.

Kageri said Velu's statement showed that Karnataka continued to be neglected in terms of railway development and blamed the state government for not convincing the Centre about the project.

Opposition BJP leader B S Yediyurappa and his senior party colleague Jagadish Shettar supported Kageri.