KOPPAL: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the latter has not only acted against the Constitution for 10 years at the Centre, but also did not make a sincere effort to fulfill the objectives of the Constitution.
He was speaking in the Prajadhwani-2 Lok Sabha election campaign programme organised at Kushtagi on Monday and appealed to the voters on behalf of his party’s candidate Rajasekhar Hitnal.
CM Siddaramaiah said, “They have done great injustice to the farmers, the backward, the poor and the minorities and have made their lives difficult. The life of common people has become difficult due to price hikes and inflation. The Narendra Modi-led BJP government ruled the country and people blessed the Congress in the last assembly elections. You blessed the Congress by proving the BJP’s belief wrong that it would win in Karnataka”.
He said that as the Chief Minister in the coalition government, H D Kumaraswamy, and the BJP government that ruled for 3 years and 10 months have done nothing.
“Both B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, as Chief Ministers, did not prioritize development. Nothing has been done for the poor, the backward and the women. They looted in Karnataka. It is for this reason that the State Contractors Association called it the 40 per cent government. Basavaraj Bommai did not agree to investigate even though the association said that they would provide evidence”, the CM said.
CM Siddaramaiah said that in eight months Congress has implemented all five guarantees. “After coming to power, we have formed a commission to investigate the previous government’s 40 per cent commission case. If we find out that they are guilty, we will definitely take strict action and protect the state of Karnataka. BJP committed the biggest crime in the state. In 8 months of coming to power, we have implemented five guarantees. We spent Rs 36,000 crore in the first year for Shakti, Grilahakshmi, Griha Jyoti, Annabhagya and Yuva Nidhi schemes”, he said.
He said that the AICC also announced guarantees after the Congress party implemented five guarantees in Karnataka. He said that if Congress comes to power at the Centre, they will give Rs 1 lakh to a woman from a poor family every year. “This announcement was made to increase the purchasing power in the hands of the people to support their families”, he said.
He said that Rs 1 lakh will be given to unemployed youth and a complete loan waiver for farmers. “Narendra Modi has not waived farmers’ loans. He remembers Karnataka only when elections arrive. He did not come to the rescue of the people when the state was hit by floods and droughts. He is trying to come to power by lying during elections and to get votes. The CM said that the people have the power to fail his effort. He has waived off 16 lakh crores of capitalists and industrialists”, he said.
He further said that so far 200 crore women have travelled in government buses for free under the Shakti scheme. “Remembering the benefits of the Shakti scheme, women speak words of praise. Annabhagya is a scheme that provides 10 kg of rice. But Modi did not agree to give five kg of rice. Therefore, instead of five kg of rice, Rs. 170 is being given to 1.50 crore families. By refusing to give rice, the BJP has betrayed the people of the state. Free electricity was provided under the Griha Jyoti Yojana. 2000 per month to 1.20 crore women under Grilahakshmi Yojana. is being given. The Congress government has implemented the Yuvanidhi scheme for unemployed youth. 36 thousand crores were spent on guarantees last year and this year rs. 52009 crore is earmarked”, he added.
Taking a dig at the BJP he said that the BJP said that if the government implements the guarantees, it will be financially bankrupt. “We live up to our promises without fail during our tenure. BJP government and Modi did not fulfil any of his promises. But Modi claims that there is no Prime Minister candidate in the Congress party, which has governed the country well for the past several decades, this is a complete lie”, he added.
He asked how many chief ministers were there during the BJP’s tenure from 2008 to 2013. “If the Congress party comes to power, a law will be made to waive farmers’ loans and support prices for crops. Congress is the only party that stands for social justice. Congress has been doing the job of upholding the Constitution by giving reservations. BJP is anti-reservation, BJP’s deity is lies. While Congress is telling the truth in this election, the BJP is telling lies”, the CM said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Ministers Shivraj Thangadagi, Bhairati Suresh, Basavaraja Rayareddy, District Congress President Amaregowda Patil, MLAs Raghavendra Hitnal, Basanagowda, Sharangowda Patil, former MP Karadi Sanganna, former MLAs were present. (ANI)