Latest news with #R.Ashok
Hans India
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
HC interim stay on closure of Jan Aushadi centres welcome: LoP
Bengaluru: 'I welcome the interim stay order issued by the High Court regarding the closure of Jan Aushadhi centres. The government, which succumbed to the private lobby, has now faced a setback', said Opposition Leader R. Ashok. Speaking at a press conference, he said the High Court has issued an interim stay order on the closure of Jan Aushadhi centres. 'The BJP had fought against this decision. The government closed Jan Aushadhi centres to favour private medical pharmacies. The government, which bowed to the private lobby, has now faced a setback. The Health and Medical Education Minister must now understand what people need and work accordingly'. 'Government hospitals are required to provide 260-270 medicines, but such a quantity is not available. Medicines are available at discounted rates at Jan Aushadhi centres. Recently, during a visit to Hassan hospital, I found only one cardiologist. In an emergency related to heart conditions, they administer an injection and send patients to Bengaluru. Closing Jan Aushadhi centres in such a situation would cause significant problems', he said. 'Terrorists are being facilitated even in jails. The Home Department is completely defunct. The state government must immediately deport Bangladeshi and Pakistani citizens. A special task force should be formed for this purpose. Vote-bank politics should not be played here. Steps must be taken to monitor prisoners' movements, and the use of mobile phones in jails should be prevented', he demanded. 'Rambhapuri Jagadguru has expressed his opinion. When lakhs of devotees visit, he expresses their sentiments. That's what Swamiji has conveyed. The government is announcing guarantees every day, but there's no money to transport rice, leading to a lorry strike. Giving guarantees while keeping all bills pending is of no use. Even though free bus services are provided, schoolchildren have to walk. Swamiji has said that people should be given a self-reliant life', he noted. 'B.K. Hariprasad has insulted the oppressed communities. In the BJP, we don't announce presidents based on hereditary succession. Elections are not held in Congress, but the BJP follows democracy', he said.
The Hindu
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Leader of Opposition Ashok visits farm fields hit by rains in Hassan dist.
Shivamogga Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok visited the agricultural fields affected by recent heavy rains in Hassan district, and demanded the State government to provide compensation for the growers. Mr. Ashok visited maize farms at Kariganahalli in Alur taluk. He interacted with farmers, who told him that they suffered a huge loss due to downy mildew (bili-suli), a fungal infection that hit the maize crop. Later, he visited coffee estates at Kyanahalli and Chinnahalli in Sakleshpur taluk. Coffee, pepper, and areca plantations had been badly hit by the recent rains. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Ashok said that the government was not responding to the woes of the farming community. The representatives had not taken time to visit the farms and speak to the farmers here. 'The government should come to their rescue. And if it does not have money, the government should borrow it to give compensation to the farmers,' he said. Regarding the sudden deaths due to heart attack in Hassan district, Mr. Ashok urged the State government to find out the reason. 'The Chief Minister became a laughing stock by commenting on the COVID-19 vaccine. The government should probe why there have been deaths in Hassan alone,' he said. Legislators H.K. Suresh, Cement Manju, BJP district unit president Siddesh Nagendra, former MLA H.M. Vishwanath, and others were present.
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Situation in the country is worse than emergency, says Minister Santosh Lad
Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Sunday said, the situation in the country today was worse than the emergency and the Union government's failures were evident at all levels 'BJP leaders are organising events against the Emergency of 1975. Emergency was imposed 50 years ago. But the country is facing a crisis which is more serious than the emergency. Why are BJP leaders not talking about that?' he told reporters. He alleged that the BJP was trying to divert attention away from its failures in various fields. 'BJP does not want the people to raise questions about the government's failures in cases like Pahalgam and Pulwama. They do not want any discussion among the public on any serious issue. That is why it is going around speaking about the emergency,' he said. 'According to the BJP, our country or State can not be compared to any other country or State. They believe we have the best Prime Minister ever. In such a situation, is any discussion about the emergency relevant?' he said. Asked to react to a statement by R. Ashok, leader of the opposition, that there would be a new Chief Minister in Karnataka, Mr. Lad said the question as to who would be the new Chief Minister should be asked to Mr. Ashok.
The Hindu
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Institutional corruption in housing schemes under Congress rule, alleges Leader of Opposition Ashok
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashok, launched a scathing attack on the Congress government, saying that it had institutionalised commission rates across various departments involving the housing sector. Speaking to reporters in Mandya, Mr. Ashok said the government reeks of corruption, and it has laid out the 'rate list for bribe'. 'For every house constructed, a 15% cut goes to the Minister's office, 3% for government approvals, 10% for engineers, 2.5% for issuing work orders, and 8% for NOC clearance,' he said. Mr. Ashok claimed that these figures were not speculative, and the housing scam was the biggest to rock the State so far. Citing figures, the BJP leader said that under the Basava Housing Scheme (Rural) 1,13,546 houses have been completed at a cost of ₹1,987 crore. Of this, Mr. Ashok alleged that ₹725.2 crore was siphoned off as commission. He alleged that under the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Awas Yojana (Rural), 45,954 houses were constructed at an expenditure of ₹804 crore, of which the commission was ₹293.53 crore. Mr. Ashok said the cumulative commission for the housing scheme in urban and rural areas was in excess of $2,000 crore. Replying to a question, Mr. Ashok said the BJP will launch a State-wide agitation against it, interact with the beneficiaries in all the districts, and lay siege to the government offices.
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
‘Unscientific' policy will not only hit excise revenue, but also kill sector itself, says Ashok
Terming the State government's approach towards excise as 'unscientific', Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok has expressed concern that such policies that have translated into arbitrary and repeated hikes in liquor prices and licence fee were bound to impact the revenues from liquor, besides killing the industry itself. In a release, Mr. Ashok said that there should be a standard parameter for increasing liquor prices and licence fees. However, the arbitrary and repeated hikes in liquor prices and licence fees within a year will have an adverse impact on the industry, he warned. Mr. Ashok pointed out that while the government boasted of not imposing new taxes in the Budget, it subsequently increased liquor prices arbitrarily. Notably, beer prices have been hiked two to three times in a year, burdening consumers significantly, he pointed out. He alleged that a lack of proper preparedness in the implementation of guarantee schemes and financial indiscipline had pushed the government to the brink of financial bankruptcy. To make up for this, the government was now trying to increase the prices of various services and goods. This had compounded woes as such hikes had not helped in improving the financial condition of the government. On the other hand, these had adversely impacted the industry and amounted to exploitation, he alleged. 'The government has now moved towards increasing fees for all aspects of the liquor industry, including production, bottling, and retail shops, by up to 100%. For this, amendments to excise laws have been proposed, and a draft notification of revised rules has been issued. The revised rates will come into effect on July 1, effectively sounding the death knell for the industry,' he alleged. The department has been set a target of earning ₹40,000 crore, and officials are exploiting everyone to achieve it, thereby pushing the industry into distress, Mr. Ashok alleged. Mr. Ashok urged the government to reconsider the revision of licence fees. 'The government must abandon unscientific measures and make appropriate decisions keeping the interests of the industry, vendors, and consumers in mind,' he observed.
