Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok on Thursday pooh-poohed the Congress government’s claim that the “Karnataka model of development” was lauded by the Oxford University as cited in the Governor’s joint address.
Speaking on the motion of thanks to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s address to the joint session of the legislature, Mr. Ashok said the citation was from the Oxford Human Rights Hub (OHRH) blog post by Jehosh Paul, lawyer and research consultant. “He has nothing to do with the reputed Oxford University. Why did Mr. Paul write this? At the time when this blog was written, he was on the payroll of the Chief Minister’s Office. He also worked with IT/BT and RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge’s office in 2019 for two months.”
Mr. Ashok said: “I wanted to know who this renowned economist was who praised the development. Later, I found that the person who wrote this was not Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, head of any department, or even a professor.”
He came down heavily on the government for using the Oxford University’s credentials. It was wrong on the part of the government to claim credit from a reputed university, he said.
In his address, Mr. Gehlot had said that the “Karnataka model” was being studied by economists and universities around the world. “Oxford University has described this model as ‘Shining a light in the darkness’ and ‘A blueprint for the world’ in its Human Rights Hub blog,” the Governor said.
Mr. Kharge, however, defended the blog and said there was nothing wrong in claiming credit for the work done by the government.
Published - March 06, 2025 09:52 pm IST
