BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra has demanded that the government remove the president and members of the Guarantee Scheme Implementation Committees across the State in the light of irregularities in the payment of monetary assistance to women beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

Talking to reporters in Dharmasthala on Friday, Mr. Vijayendra said the government had appointed presidents and members to committees at the State, district and taluk levels, and they were being paid remuneration from taxpayers’ money. In the light of the recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India flagging irregularities worth ₹225 crore in payments to Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries, the government should immediately remove the presidents and members of these committees, he said.

On the proposed acquisition of agricultural land for the Bidadi Township Project, Mr. Vijayendra said the BJP would not allow the State government to displace farmers for the project. “The party will fight for the farmers,” he said.

Mr. Vijayendra accused the Congress of misleading people on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is set to commence across the State on June 30. The booth-level agents (BLAs) of the party across all 224 Assembly constituencies had been made aware of the SIR exercise, he said. The BLAs would work with booth-level officers to clear duplicate entries and other errors to ensure a clean electoral roll.

Mr. Vijayendra said the party had made him head of the State unit to strengthen the party’s organisation across the State, and not to make him the Chief Minister. He said he would work with senior leaders and party workers to bring the BJP back to power in the State. The party would expose the corrupt practices of the Congress government.

“I am not saying this with arrogance. I have confidence in our party workers to root out the Congress government and bring the BJP back to power in the State,” he said.

Mr. Vijayendra had darshan of Lord Manjunathaswamy in Dharmasthala. He was accompanied by Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta, Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja, Mangaluru City MLAs D. Vedavyas Kamath and Y. Bharath Shetty, Bantwal MLA U. Rajesh Naik, Sullia MLA Bhagirathi Murulya, Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna, Kaup MLA Gurme Suresh Shetty, Kundapura MLA Kiran Kumar Kodagi, Byndoor MLA Gururaj Gantihole, MLCs Kishore Kumar Puttur and Prathapsimha Nayak, and BJP district president Satish Kumpala.