MUMBAI, FEB 3: Reacting to the Congress' allegations of corruption and failure to tackle development work, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government today struck back, terming the charges as ``baseless''.Releasing a booklet titled Rokhthok Uttar (Direct Answer) at Shivalaya, the Sena office at Nariman Point, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and BJP spokesperson Prakash Jawdekar said it was a rejoinder to the Kali Patrika (Black Paper) released by senior Congress leader Ranjit Deshmukh in Nagpur yesterday.The Congress had alleged that the state government had failed to launch welfare schemes, that it backed industrialists instead of workers, that corruption was rampant in all government transactions, the state was facing a financial crisis and that it had ignored women's problems. The list of charges also included, among other things, suppression of minority communities, failure of the slum redevelopment scheme, corruption in the Krishna Valley Development scheme and deterioration of the law andorder situation in the state.The SS-BJP booklet gave detailed statistics about the work done and positive status of the state regarding all the issues. About welfare schemes, it said the government had brought out a white paper on the water problem in the state, launched a scheme to provide five essential commodities through the public distribution system at a fixed rate for five years, had started military schools and launched the zunka bhakar scheme. On workers' problems, the booklet said the government took a definite stand on bonus, initiated the process of fixing minimum wages for workers, had begun abolishing the contract labour system and established bodies to look into child labour.Refuting charges of corruption, the booklet said the government had initiated judicial inquiries against three of its ministers, Shobhatai Phadnavis, Mahadeo Shivankar and Shashikant Sutar and found all of them innocent. The booklet assured that the financial condition of the government was sound and that it was notunder heavy debts.Schemes in which the government had raised money through bonds and issues were given good ratings by different credit rating agencies, the booklet added.
