Belgaum: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president M Venkaiah Naidu today (Apr 23, 2004) came down heavily on the S M Krishna Government for its alleged failure to protect farmers and said, if voted to power in the State, his party would give utmost priority for roads, water, power and agriculture.

Speaking to reporters in Belgaum, he called Krishna "Chief Minister of Bangalore", charging him with failure to protect the interest of farmers.

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In an attempt to reach out to the voters of backward Northern Karnataka, Naidu said BJP would make efforts to remove regional disparity if given a chance to rule the State.

He said political problems and regional differences were created during the Congress rule and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken initiatives to overcome them.

To a query, Naidu said the BJP was holding its "jhanda" in one hand and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) agenda in the other.

He also accused the Congress president Sonia Gandhi of carrying on a "false propaganda" against NDA Government and said she seemed to believe that it would help her party.

"People of the country are intelligent and would vote on the performance of the Government," he said.