The Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka want the Congress government’s guarantee schemes in the State abolished, alleged All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala.
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Addressing a press conference in Mandya on Sunday, Mr. Surjewala said JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra want the benefits of the State government amounting to ₹58,000 crore every year that percolate to the people of the State to be stopped.
Claiming that nearly 3 crore households in Karnataka were getting a benefit of about ₹1.2 lakh every year in the form of the Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi, Anna Bhagya, Shakti and Yuva Nidhi guarantee schemes of the State government, the Congress leader asked Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Vijayendra why they wanted the guarantee schemes in Karnataka to be stopped.
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Alleging that the DNA of BJP and JD(S) was ‘anti-welfare of people’, Mr. Surjewala said the Modi Government at the Centre was giving 6.5 crore people of Karnataka only a “chombu” (a pot used as a slang for emptiness), even though ₹18,400 crore is due to Karnataka under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). “This is neither Mr. H.D. Kumaraswamy’s money nor Mr. Siddaramaiah’s money. It belongs to our farmers and our labourers,” the Congress leader said.
Even though the 15th Finance Commission has allocated ₹58,000 crore to Karnataka as its right, the Prime Minister gives the people of Karnataka only a “chombu”.
AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala addressing a meeting in Mysuru on Sunday. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram
Later, addressing a press conference in Mysuru, Mr. Surjewala said the people have to choose between the tried and tested guarantee model of Congress and the “chombu” model of the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
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Claiming that there was no Modi wave anywhere in the country including Karnataka, he said the Congress will win 20 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka, paving the way for the Congress-led INDI alliance coming to power at the Centre in June this year.
Congress’ promises
Listing the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha election manifesto including the ₹1 lakh per year to women heads of all poor households, ₹1 lakh stipend per year to all unemployed youths with training for two years, farm loan waivers amounting to around 3 to 3.5 lakh crore people across the country and guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers, Mr. Surjewala said the Congress party was running a “positive” campaign for the welfare of the people of the country.
Accusing the BJP of “dividing the people on the basis of religion”, Mr. Surjewala said the Congress was working towards “uniting the people through progress and prosperity.”