Cong turned Rajiv’s dream into nightmare, says Gowda

Former PM H.D. Deva Gowda on Sunday charged the Karnataka government of shattering the late Rajiv Gandhi’s dreams by taking away local bodies’ powers.

‘‘The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution were brought by Rajiv Gandhi to give more powers to local bodies and stop government interference. Contrary to those principles, the S.M. Krishna government is engaged in weakening the system,’’ Gowda said.

He also released a 12-page open letter written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

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The highlights of the letter are the Rs 100-crore loan from HUDCO and making changes in the stamp duty thereby depriving local bodies of funds.

The loan was meant to be distributed among municipal bodies for various development works, he said.