Mangaluru: As Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar has come out in open against the Yettinahole project, District In-Charge Minister B Ramanath Rai on Monday February 1, asked him to quit the party and take a firm stand adding that he would talk to the Chief Minister to quash the project, if Kateel manages to do that.

Rai said that all the BJP members are for the project and only Kateel has disguising the world that he is against it. “If he really is against the project, let him leave the BJP or let him convince his party members to move a motion in the house against the project,” he added.

Addressing the media on Monday February 1, Rai said that the Siddaramaiah government is being blamed for the implementation of the project, however, it was BJP’s Late VS Acharya who initiated the project without scientific study when he was the Minister in 2009.

“V S Acharya had announced that he will divert 10 per cent water to the drought hit districts through the Yettinahole project. He said that the diverting of river Netravati would not upset the water supply to the coastal districts and that the project was announced by the then Chief Minister Yeddyyurappa in the budget,” Rai informed.

Further speaking Rai said that he had openly opposed the project as a social activist back then and had also conducted a seminar regarding the pros and cons of the Yettinahole project. He said that since the previous governments had all passed the project, it is now in the hands of Siddaramaiah and hence, Congress cannot be blamed.

Slamming MP Kateel, Rai said that the former was only using the issue to gain publicity, however, he neither knows to act nor take mileage out of such issues.