Madhu Bangarappa, Sorab MLA, has alleged that both the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre and the Congress government in the State have failed to focus on the development of rural areas.
Mr. Bangarappa was speaking at an election meeting of the Janata Dal (Secular) at Anaveri, a village near here, on Wednesday.
After NDA came to power at the Centre, the financial grants for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and other programmes had been cut. The State government had failed to come to the rescue of farmers in villages, who were facing hardship due to drought, he said.
Elected members of gram panchayats were disillusioned with the negligence being meted out by both the BJP and the Congress towards development of villages. Farmers would teach a lesson to both the national parties in the election for Legislative Council from Shivamogga local authorities constituency by supporting the Janata Dal (S) candidate, he said.
H.N. Niranjan, the Janata Dal (S) candidate, said that if elected, he would strive to strengthen decentralisation system by delegating powers to gram panchayats.
