Cong wants K'taka Govt to subsidise fees to prof courses

Hubli, Aug 2 (UNI) Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council H K Patil today charged the JD (S)-BJP coalition government in the state with having failed to keep up its word to students aspiring to join professional courses and said it had no moral right to continue in power.

Addressing a press conference here, he claimed that Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Higher Education Minister D H Shankaramurthy and several other ministers, who had assured the students that the government would subsidise the fees to professional courses, had now backtracked by expressing helplessness to provide subsidy.

Mr Patil wondered why the move to provide subsidy was dropped when Finance Minister B S Yediyurappa himself had declared that the state was not facing any financial crisis.

To a question, he said the government should have thought before giving an assurance to this effect. Now when the admission process was on, the government's decision had come as a blow to students and their parents.

Mr Patil warned that if the government did not drop its move, the party would resort to agitation.

On the political developments in the state, he said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy should agree for a Central Bureau of Investigation into the mining activities and other related issues.

Referring to the Judicial probe into the issue, he said the terms of reference given to the Justice Bhat Commission was totally vague. There was no specific reference to the allegation against Mr Kumaraswamy and his cabinet colleagues, he added.

UNI MNP RG RKN1345