NEW DELHI: A recent remark by a close aide of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has sparked fresh political slugfest amid internal power struggles within the Congress and mounting opposition criticism.Basavaraj Raya Reddy, an MLA and economic adviser to the chief minister, hinted at financial constraints during a public event in his constituency Yelburga. While inaugurating a school building, he asked the public to choose between government welfare schemes and developmental work like road construction.“Say I don’t want rice or anything, if you say, ‘only build village roads’, we will do that too. I will suggest Siddaramaiah stop it as people are asking us to, should I tell him?” Reddy said in Kannada.“If you want an asphalt road or a school, understand that everything can’t be done at once. You need to make it clear, say you don’t want these other benefits, stop all that. If you ask us to build roads, we will build roads. If you say, ‘build temples’, we’ll build only temples. It is because we must manage everything with the funds available,” he added.Opposition parties quickly seized on Reddy’s comments. Basangouda Patil Yatnal, a recently expelled BJP MLA, called the statement “reckless” and accused the Congress government of misleading the public.“Freebie politics will not only deprive people of basic infrastructure but also increase the prices of essential services. The electorate must reject freebie politics and vote for development, education, jobs, law and order, and the welfare of the people,” Yatnal said.The controversy has further intensified criticism of the state government, which is already under fire over recent calls for Siddaramaiah’s resignation following the Bengaluru stampede.Amid the buzz over a possible leadership change, Siddaramaiah on Tuesday firmly dismissed the rumours, asserting that he intends to complete his full five-year term. “Yes, I will continue as CM. Why do you have doubts?” he told reporters, brushing aside concerns about internal dissent.Earlier, both deputy CM DK Shivakumar and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka had also denied any talk of a leadership change.