Regional Imbalance, Corruption Need Govt's Nuanced Approach to Deal With

Earlier this week, Chief Minister's Economic Advisor and senior Congress lawmaker Basavaraj Rayareddi stirred up a political storm—albeit a short-lived one—with his sharp comments on corruption in the system.

- Ramu Patil Assistant Resident Editor [e-mail]

As expected, his remarks did not go down well with those in the ruling party, while the opposition used them to target the state government.

But, looking beyond the party politics, the comments—on corruption in the system and poor quality of works, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region—from a lawmaker who is part of the high echelons of the state administration, yet again highlight the rot in the system.

The Siddaramaiah government, which is going after the alleged wrongdoings of the previous BJP government by forming commissions and Special Investigation Teams (SITs), should show the same vigour to come clean on allegations made against the current administration.

The government must make earnest efforts to address the issues raised by one of its senior lawmakers during the meeting called by the regional imbalance redressal committee. The committee, headed by a noted economist, Prof Govind Rao, is constituted to look into the reasons for regional imbalance and suggest measures to address them.

The issue about poor quality in the development works in the Kalyana Karnataka region compared to that of South Karnataka, raised by the Congress legislator, is unlikely to be part of the findings of the committee.