BSY’s math lesson for Opposition

BENGALURU: Amid sloganeering by the Congress legislators, who stormed into the well of the House on Monday, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa presented his response to the Governor’s address. As the Congress leaders shouted slogans, they missed a quick math lesson in politics by the CM.

“Numbers are supreme in democracy and in this game of numbers, our party has won. 49 is equal to 0, but 51 is equal to 100 in politics. We have proven that we have the people’s support by winning 12 out of 15 seats in the bypolls. It is our party’s and government’s moral victory,” Yediyurappa told Siddaramaiah, reminding him that the BJP won 25+1 seats in the Lok Sabha election, while the Congress just won one. “Your criticism is an insult to the people’s mandate,” he added.

Reiterating that he is committed to setting aside funds for the Mahadayi project in the March 5 budget, Yediyurappa recalled works taken up by his government. On flood relief measures, he pointed out that the initial estimates suggested 2.47 lakh houses had been damaged in the floods but Housing Ministry using GPS technology and geo-tagging had asserted that 1,25,795 houses were destroyed. The government has so far released Rs 4,413 crore for relief and rehabilitation works from NDRF, SDRF, Chief Minister’s relief fund and concerned departments, of which Rs 3338 crore has been spent, he said. “We have already given Rs 1 lakh each to some 2 lakh people who have lost their houses. We have now begun disbursal of the second instalment of Rs 1 lakh,” he added.

In his 15-minute speech centred around 61 points ranging from Suburban Railway to his Davos visit, Yediyurappa listed out achievements of his seven-month-old government. His reference to the implementation of article “360 J” more effectively in Kalyana Karnataka region drew some flak from Congress leader Priyank Kharge, who pointed out that the special status to the region was granted under Article 371 J, not 370 J.