The opposition JDS and BJP today slammed Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj's address to the joint session of the state legislature, saying it was devoid of any new programme and policy and lacked direction.
Leader of Opposition H D Kumaraswamy said while the Governor mentioned about scams and corruption cases in the last few years, he, in fact, had lavishly praised the BJP government during the customary exercise in the previous three years.
The government has not spelt out any new programme, the JDS leader said. "There is no direction, no clarity."
BJP floor leader and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar said the new government has not announced any new programme. "Several points are from our budget (presented by the previous BJP government)," he said.
On government announcement that it would formulate necessary regulations within three months for establishing a separate development board for six backward districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, Shettar said there was no need to take so much time to do that, and it should be done immediately.
He criticised the government for announcing the ban on gutka without taking care of the interests of arecanut growers and confidence of the legislature.
Shettar pointed out that Karnataka accounts for about 60 per cent of the country's arecanut production, while other states which have banned gutka are largely consumers; not producers of arecanut.
"The government should have first protected the interests of arecanut farmers. When the Assembly session is progress, the government should have announced the decision in the House, where the pros and cons could have been discussed," the BJP leader said.
