Mangaluru: A sense of open cold-war has kick-started between MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and former minister B Ramanath Rai, after the former alleged that the widening works of the Mangaluru-Karkala National Highway (169), connecting Solapur was delayed due to Rai and other Congress leaders.
In response to this statement, Rai, on Monday said that Kateel is a “lazy MP” and that added that so far, he had never seen an MP who is always found resting at the Circuit House in Mangaluru every afternoon.
“Without any dedication towards work, Kateel calls himself No. 1 MP,” Rai mocked and hailed the five years of Siddaramaiah’s rule in the state as the ‘golden era of the state’.
Slamming Nalin Kumar Kateel, Ramanath Rai claimed that when he was district in-charge minister, he had cleared the land acquisition problem for the Mangaluru-Karkala road widening by holding three meetings with the officers and stakeholders. Despite him having been invited to the meetings, he failed to attend.
“It was during Oscar Fernandes’ tenure as the Minister for Transport, Road, and Highways that this project was proposed,” he said billing off Kateel as someone who had known only to instigate communal violence.
Rai also alleged that it was during Veerappa Moily’s tenure as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas that funds were allocated for the development of Lady Goschen Hospital through MRPL’s CSR funds. “When the contractor from North India stopped the construction work, I had continued the work after handing over the contract to another person,” he added.
When asked if he will contest the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in 2019, Rai stated that he was not the high command to decide. “I am a sincere party worker and I would not comment
