Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, V. Somanna, took a swipe at the Congress in the State, without directly naming the party, accusing it of always complaining about “lack of allotment to Karnataka”.

He said the country was making rapid strides on all fronts and if the Congress was unable to see it, then it is because the party has developed cataract.

 “The Congress always claims that nothing is being allotted to Karnataka. But is the Congress truly interested in development? Both the State and the Centre must work together. The two are like two sides of the same coin,” Mr. Somanna stated, adding that the lack of cooperation from the State government had deprived the people of Karnataka, of potential benefits.

In his address, Mr. Somanna compared the allocations for Karnataka under the current government to those made during the previous Congress-led regime and said that Central allocation to the State had increased manifold under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also took umbrage at the Congress for not attending any of the inauguration of development projects. ‘’They have a tendency to withdraw, sulk and then blame Mr. Modi though it is their own follies which have emptied the State treasury,” said Mr. Somanna.