Choose between guarantees and ‘akshate’: Magadi Congress MLA Balakrishna stokes row

BENGALURU, RAMANAGARA: Magadi Congress MLA H C Balakrishna has stirred a controversy when he asked voters to choose between the Congress guarantees and the ‘akshate’ (rice grains coated with vermillion) ‘distributed by the BJP’. He also said the guarantees may have to be scrapped if the Congress does not do well in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. On Wednesday, he reiterated his statement and said he has discussed the issue with the CM and the Deputy CM.

At a public meeting at Srigiripura in Magadi taluk on Tuesday evening, Balakrishna urged voters to elect D K Suresh again to the Lok Sabha and said the Congress guarantees will be stopped if the party does not fare well. “The BJP is distributing akshate and seeking votes, we implemented five guarantees and are seeking votes. If the Congress does not get good number of seats, it will mean that the people are not interested in the guarantees”, he said. He also said that he had discussed the issue with the CM.

The MLA questioned whether voters were for the guarantee schemes or the akshate.

“Is your vote for the grains of akshate or for the five guarantees? If you ensure good number of seats for the Congress, the guarantee schemes will continue, otherwise it will mean that you have rejected them”, he said.

Speaking to Public TV on Wednesday, Balakrishna claimed that the BJP inaugurated the Ram temple at Ayodhya with an eye on the Lok Sabha election. “We had to light our own lamps and they applied our own kumkum and came to power. They inaugurated the temple in a hurry only for the election”, he said.

Further, the MLA said, “We announced the guarantees for the election. It is my personal opinion that if the people choose development over the guarantee schemes, then we will have to concluded that the guarantees are not needed. I have discussed the issue with both the CM and the Deputy CM. The guarantee schemes have affected development as they are costing Rs 60,000 crore. If people don’t vote for the guarantees, it means that they are not needed and we can use the funds for development. This is my personal opinion”, he added.