Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashok on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Congress government, alleging that excessive spending on guarantee schemes had pushed the state’s health sector into a crisis.
In a post on social media platform X, Ashok claimed that 35,196 posts remain vacant in the Health Department, affecting the functioning of government hospitals across the state. He urged the government to fill the vacancies immediately and release pending salaries of employees working under the Namma Clinic programme.
“Chief ministers have changed and health ministers have changed, but the Congress government’s negligence, incompetence and anti-people governance remain the same. Today, the health department itself is in the ICU,” Ashok alleged.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”kn” dir=”ltr”>ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಪೂರ್ಣಾವಧಿ ಸಚಿವರನ್ನು ನೇಮಿಸಲು ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಈ <a href=”https://x.com/INCKarnataka?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@INCKarnataka</a> ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಡು-ನುಡಿ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಿಂಚಿತ್ತೂ ಗೌರವವಿಲ್ಲ.<br><br>ಸಚಿವರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳದ್ದೇ ದರ್ಬಾರಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಕಲಾವಿದರನ್ನು ಕೇಳುವವರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಂತಾಗಿದೆ. ಇವರ ಆಡಳಿತ ವೈಫಲ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕನ್ನಡಾಂಬೆಯ ಸೇವೆ… <a href=”https://t.co/vsNMpKIF6E”>pic.twitter.com/vsNMpKIF6E</a></p>— R. Ashoka (@RAshokaBJP) <a href=”https://x.com/RAshokaBJP/status/2070704265950359903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 27, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
The BJP leader claimed that several government hospitals were struggling with severe staff shortages, resulting in inadequate care for patients, particularly those requiring emergency treatment. He also alleged that some hospitals were facing shortages of essential medicines.
Ashok further claimed that doctors, nurses and other personnel working under the Namma Clinic initiative had not received salaries for the past three months, causing financial hardship to employees.
Accusing the government of “emptying the treasury” through its flagship guarantee schemes, Ashok said the administration had neglected critical sectors such as healthcare.
He warned that the BJP would launch statewide protests if the government failed to fill vacant posts in the Health Department and clear salary dues of Namma Clinic staff at the earliest.
