Tirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra criticises Congress leaders on ESA issue

Former Minister and Tirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the Congress was misleading the public on the issue of the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) notification for the Western Ghats region, for political reasons.

Addressing a press conference in Shivamogga on Thursday, Mr. Jnanendra said both the committees headed by Prof. Madhav Gadgil and K. Kasturirangan were constituted when the Congress was in power at the Centre. Even the first notification inviting public objections was issued during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, he said, adding that Congress leaders were misleading the public by hiding these facts.

He alleged that former Minister Kimmane Rathnakar remained silent when the Congress government constituted those committees, but was now raising the issue to target the BJP-led Central government for political reasons.

Mr. Jnanendra further said that Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa’s understanding of the issue was questionable, and that he should study the subject before commenting on it. “The State government should conduct a survey on the ground, on the lines of the neighbouring Kerala model, to identify human habitations and farmland for exclusion from the ambit of the ESA. There is no point in criticising the Centre on this issue,” he said.

Welcoming Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s decision to hold a special legislature session on the issue, the BJP MLA said all party members would take part in the debate, and that the State government would have to take a decision by taking all parties into confidence.

Commenting on the completion of 100 days of the Shivakumar-led government, Mr. Jnanendra said there was no notable achievement to show for it. The people in power were misusing the people’s mandate, and corruption had reached its peak, he alleged.