Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Sunday defended the State government’s decision to allot land and sanction funds to maths and other religious institutions through budget announcements and Cabinet clearances. There was “nothing wrong” in these generous allocations and it was a “tradition”, he said.
He was speaking to journalists after inaugurating the shuttle badminton court at the Nehru Stadium here.
The BJP government over the last five years allocated funds to maths and religious institutions in every budget. The recent Cabinet meeting also cleared generous land grants to several religious institutions. Mr. Shettar said the allotments were being made based on the necessity of the applicants. He said that earlier also Chief Ministers had allotted land to religious institutions and allocated funds for development works.
“One should not draw any further inference from such moves. The State government hasn’t taken the decision in the wake of the forthcoming elections. These are routine applications which are dealt with considering the genuineness of the applicants’ requirements,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the national leadership would take a decision on the State unit president within two to three days.
‘No race at all’
Member of Parliament from Dharwad Pralhad Joshi, who is among the probable candidates, said there was “no race at all” for the State unit president’s post.
