Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar has said that if the Congress is elected to the municipal corporations of Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi and Kalaburagi, the party will announce 50% reduction in property tax.
Addressing presspersons in Hubballi on Sunday, Mr. Shivakumar said that people were already in severe economic crisis because of the COVID-19-induced lockdown and subsequent restrictions. “In both Gujarat and Telangana, rebates have already been announced in property tax. However, the BJP government in the State has not extended any relief to residents,” he said.
He said that although the BJP has been in power for two terms in Hubballi-Dharwad and has its own governments both in the State and at the Centre, it has failed to ensure development of the twin cities. Mr. Shivakumar said that the only achievement of the BJP is that it has succeeded in giving a series of false promises while not fulfilling the assurances given in its manifesto during the previous polls.
He sought to know from the BJP why the people should vote for it when it has failed to fulfil assurances. He said that in the land of Basaveshwara, the BJP leaders should stop lying. He said that the Congress has acted according to its promises and expressed the confidence that the party will win the highest number of seats in the municipal polls.
He said that the State has under the BJP rule witnessed the highest quantum of corruption. He said that corruption is the reason for change of guard in the State. “If the earlier Chief Minister has done great work, why is he not allowed to continue. Why did he shed tears while stepping down? Was he changed because of high corruption? You (BJP leaders) should answer,” he said.
Regarding the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), he said that MLA Arvind Bellad of the BJP has all the details of corruption in BRTS. “We have to believe Mr. Bellad as he knows the internal secrets. No other evidence other than Mr. Bellad is required to prove the BJP’s corruption,” he said.
Taking a dig at what he termed misrule of the BJP in the municipal corporation, Mr. Shivakumar said that those who wanted to learn dancing should visit Hubballi-Dharwad and take a round of the twin cities. They will automatically learn dancing, he said and added that he visited various places in the twin cities in the last two days and there were no good interior roads. “No road is good. All are full of potholes. The BJP has duped the people with false promises. After travelling between Hubballi and Dharwad, one has to change clothes as they will change colour because of the dusty roads,” he said.
AICC observer Kuldeep Rai Sharma, the former Minister R.V. Deshpande, KPCC working president Dhruv Narayan and others were present.
