Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday claimed that BJP-backed candidates have secured a majority of seats in 60% of the gram panchayats in the State.
Elections were held to GPs in two phases on December 22 and 27 and more than 80% of the voters exercised their franchise. Elections were held on non-party lines. “Out of the 5,728 GPs, BJP-backed candidates have won the majority in around 3,800 GPs,” the Chief Minister said at a press conference here.
Stating that the BJP was strengthening its base across the country, including Karnataka, he said party-backed candidates had “created history”.
Rolling out plans for 2021, he said that his government would “change the face of Bengaluru city” in the next one year by undertaking development works. The execution of works will commence in full swing in the next few months, he said.
Many tourism programmes too have been planned out to revive the tourism sector in the State, and will be taken up at Jog Falls and other tourist destinations, he added.
Referring to the new farm laws, he said amendments to the APMC Act and the land reforms Act were made for doubling farmers’ incomes, as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also claimed that Opposition leaders were misleading farmers and posing obstacles to development. “These new laws will lead Karnataka along the path of development,” Mr. Yediyurappa said.
“There was a dire need to reform certain old Acts and laws to compete with developed nations like the United States and China and succeed. Therefore, Mr. Modi has taken steps to reform such laws,” he said.
On FDI
The Chief Minister also said that the State had topped in attracting Foreign Direct Investment even during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as 95 proposals, worth ₹1.54 lakh crore, have been received, he said.
“Though COVID-19 has come under control, we need to be cautious against the new strain of virus from the U.K.,” he said.
