Modi’s speech after second phase of polling shows his frustration, says Kharge

The AICC president was addressing a rally in Gurmitkal town of Yadgir district seeking votes for Congress candidate in Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) Lok Sabha Constituency Radhakrishna Doddamani

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressing a public meeting in support of party candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in Gurmitkal of Yadgir district on Monday. | Photo Credit: PTI

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is frustrated after the second phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, as, according to him, the people have extended their support to the Congress with their votes.

He was addressing a rally in Gurmitkal town of Yadgir district seeking votes for Congress candidate in Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) Lok Sabha Constituency Radhakrishna Doddamani on Monday.

Mr. Modi always criticises the Nehru-Gandhi parivar and also me when there are no issues to speak about. But, after the second phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, he is talking about mangalasutra and Muslims, he said.

The Congress will never snatch any mangalasutra from women but will fight against such moves by anyone. “The way Mr. Modi is speaking shows his frustration. There is nothing in the Constitution about snatching wealth and giving it to somebody else, as he says,” Mr. Kharge added.

Mr. Kharge spoke about the Congress manifesto and said that they have planned several key programmes to uplift the status of people by reducing prices and providing employment to youth. “Our vision is mentioned in our manifesto. But, Mr. Modi is talking about transferring wealth to Muslims. It will not happen,” he made it clear.

Sharp attack

Mr. Kharge sharply attacked Mr. Modi for saying more and doing nothing for the poor people and questioning the Congress on development. “We developed infrastructure, colleges, hospitals and took up other development works. I provided basic infrastructure in Gurmitkal. Only five villages in Gurmitkal constituency had electricity when I came here to contest my first elections to the Assembly,” he said.

“Now, we have developed the town and villages with basic infrastructure. I brought a railway coach factory for Kadechur. But the Union government has not released further grants for it. I challenge him to show 10% development against what we contributed for Kalaburagi Lok Sabha Constituency’s development,” he said.

Targeting Modi’s Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas concept, Mr. Kharge said that the prices of daily use commodities and LPG cylinders are going up and the Prime Minister has done nothing to reduce the prices. “Can we call it Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas? No. It is Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Satyanash,” Mr. Kharge claimed.

“The establishment of LIC, the Food Security Bill, the Right to Education Act and Article 371(J) of the Constitution are the key contributions of the Congress,” Mr. Kharge said and asked Mr. Modi to explain any development works that he has taken up so far for the welfare of the people.

He remembered his early days in Gurmitkal, which, he said, is his Karmabhumi, and said that he went from a village to Delhi because of the blessings of the voters (of Gurmitkal).

“Everybody is appreciating Gurmitkal for sending me to the national level. I request that you vote for Congress candidate Radhakrishna Doddamani for the development of the constituency,” he appealed to the people.

Inspiration

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who attended the rally, said, “We have been inspired by Karnataka’s guarantee schemes and are implementing similar schemes in Telangana.”

He said that Mr. Modi has done injustice to the people of the nation by failing to keep his promises, including creating two crore jobs every year and bringing back blackmoney.

“He promised to double farm income. What happened to it? Farmers are still losing their lives owing to agrarian crisis. The people of Karnataka gave 25 seats to the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections. However, Mr. Modi gave them an empty vessel. And, you should not support the BJP but vote for the Congress for pro-people governance,“ he said.

Mr. Reddy praised Mr. Kharge for taking the party to a high level under his leadership and said that the voters of Karnataka should strengthen the party by electing more number of seats. “If the BJP wins 400 seats, they will remove reservation given to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities,“ he added.

The former Minister Baburao Chinchansur, president of the District Congress Committee Basareddy Anapur, Shenik Kumar Dokha, Krishna Chepatla, Vishwanath Neelahalli and others were present.