Mangaluru: Taking a dig at the BJP and their election manifesto, former MLA J R Lobo claimed that the BJP’s promise of taking measures to develop the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) and New Mangaluru Port Trust (NMPT) is just an election gimmick.
Speaking to reporters at the Congress’ election office on Friday, April 12, Lobo said, ”Instead of taking measures to develop the MIA, the BJP government is trying to privatise it to help the Adani group of companies. Though the Central Government had promised to provide Rs 13 crore for the third phase of development of the fishing harbour, the funds have not yet been released. The state government has already taken up developmental works at the cost of Rs 55 crore. So, why is the BJP simply taking up the issue of the development of the fishing harbour in its election manifesto?”
He also accused the Central Government of not taking effective measures to trace the seven fishermen who went missing along with their boat while deep sea fishing a couple of months ago. “The state government has extended its full cooperation towards the search operation. If the BJP-led Union Government is really concerned about the fishermen, they would have taken all the necessary measures to trace them,” he said.
Highlighting the Congress’ election manifesto for the Dakshina Kannada district, Lobo said, “If the Congress party is voted to power, they will utilise the tourism potential of the Dakshina Kannada district to make it a tourism centre. They will also develop the NMPT and take the necessary steps to make Mangaluru the centre of the economy. The Congress will concentrate on creating employment opportunities for the youth. They will also ensure the completion of the railway line doubling work between Hubballi and Ankola, in order to link Mangaluru to North Karnataka.”
Congress leaders Suresh Ballal, T K Sudheer, Vishwas Kumar Das, Mariamma Thomas among others were present.
