VIJAYAPURA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J P Nadda on Saturday said, “The BJP stands for development, the BJP means transparency, but the Congress means corruption”. He was speaking after launching the nine-day booth level Vijay Sankalpa Yatra organised in Sidagi in Vijayapura on Saturday.
Pointing to is finger, Nadda said at a public meeting that there is lot of strength in it. “If the finger is pressed in the right place, everything will be good. If pressed in the wrong place, it will lead to problems” he remarked.
Commenting on Rahul Gandhi and the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Nadda said “He also traversed through Karnataka, but now it has become a ‘thodo yatra’. If the culture of state is to be safeguarded, it is possible only by the BJP. Karnataka has a great role in the progress of the country. It has played a major role in Digital India and industrial development. India’s economy improves as Karnataka develops. Prime Minister Narendra Modi always remembers and respects the rich heritage of state”, he said.
“When our Prime Minister comes to Karnataka, he talks about the pride of Karnataka by remembering the traditions, customs, poets, and writers of Karnataka. Whereas with Rahul Gandhi, those people are seen who have done the work of breaking India. That’s why I say that the development of Karnataka is only secure under BJP”, Nadda said.
He also said that Karnataka is among the leading states in terms of infrastructural development. “Karnataka has seen unparalleled development under the BJP and is among the leading States as regards infrastructural development in the country. The contribution of the state can never be neglected”, he said.
The BJP is chanting mantra of ‘welfare of all’ (Sab ka Vikas). The development programmes taken up by Yediyurappa have been continued by Basavaraj Bommai, he noted. “Earlier, we usually would see smartphones with ‘Made in China’ marking and now we can see ‘Made in India’ markings, which is a remarkable change. We have come from 14th position to second position in producing steel. India ranks third in automobile manufacturing and Karnataka ranks second in terms of economic progress. In 2014, there was 350 km optical cable but today, they are spread over 2 lakh kilometres” he noted.
“When Karnataka students were stuck in Ukraine, the PM made sure they were brought back to their homeland. Modi called Putin and thousands of Indian students were brought back safely”, Nadda pointed out.
Nadda explained the programmes of the Union and state governments and their achievements. “PM Modi has given Suraksha Chakra to citizens through vaccination in India. Vaccines were supplied to 100 countries from India, out of which 50 countries got it for free.
Emphasising on the Covid vaccination, he said that there is a “cent percent” vaccination in India. “Isn’t there cent percent vaccination in India? Only 76 pc of people in the US, and 64 pc in Europe are vaccinated, nobody knows about China”, he said.
He has given houses to 12 crore women and empowered women by providing 27 lakh toilets in the state. About three crore houses have been built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana so that no poor family should live without ashelter. About eight lakh houses have been constructed in Karnataka for the poor. Today, 50 per cent of India’s population is getting health benefit of Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and Yashaswini Yojana”, he noted.
About eight lakh people are getting Rs 2,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana of which two lakh farmers from in Vijayapur are benefiting from it. “About 400 trains are plying in India under Vande Bharat Yojana. A huge statue of Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda was inaugurated recently. When I arrived, I saw that each road had four lanes. In the coming days, all will be converted to eight lanes,” he said.
He further said that today 40 pc of all UPI transactions worldwide are from India. “In December 2022, there were 782 crore UPI transactions with a total transaction of Rs 13 lakh crore. Today, India accounts for 40 pc of all UPI transactions worldwide. In 2014, we used to import 92 pc of phones, today 97 pc of phones are being made in India,” he said.
Nadda also inaugurated the Vijaya Sankalpa Abhiyan at the Nagathana Constituency in Vijayapura. He also visited Jnanayogashram in Vijayapura, where he paid respects to Siddeshwara Maha Swami, and took blessings of Shri Basavalinga Mahaswami.
Earlier in the day, Nadda arrived in Kalaburagi on Saturday, from where he went to Vijayapura, a day after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed that party high command will be deciding the candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls.
After Friday’s meeting, where the modalities for launching the Rath Yatra from four directions by the end of February were discussed, Bommai said, “It was decided in the meeting to take the programmes of state and union governments to every house, and district-level convention of various morchas”.
Bommai also informed reporters about the programmes to be held this month and the next month. “The high command will decide on the list of candidates. The poll preparations and Jan Sampark programmes were discussed in the meeting. Now, only a preliminary round discussion was held and the next course of action will be decided with former CM B S Yediyurappa”, he added.