Repeatedly quoting in Kannada one of the vachanas of 12th-century social reformer Basaveshwara, AICC president Rahul Gandhi has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words did not match his deeds.
Addressing an election rally here on Friday, Mr. Gandhi said Mr. Modi would garland Basavanna’s statue to show his respect to the iconic reformer but never follow his thoughts.
“Basavanna said Nudidante Nade [do as you say]. But Mr. Modi never did what he said. He promised to bring back black money and deposit Rs. 15 lakh to the accounts of each citizen. He promised to generate 2 crore jobs every year. People believed him and voted him to power. But, he didn’t keep his word. His promises turned out to be hoaxes. Let alone giving you Rs. 15 lakh, Mr. Modi, through demonetisation, forced you to deposit whatever cash you had in the banks. And that money was looted by Nirav Modi, and Prime Minister allowed the looter to escape to London with the loot. Yet, he comes to Karnataka to give a lecture on corruption,” Mr. Gandhi said.
Referring to Mr. Modi’s remarks on senior Congressman M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi said that the Prime Minister’s sympathy for Dalits was not genuine. “Modiji doesn’t allow Khargeji to speak in Lok Sabha. Under Modi rule, dalit scholar Rohit Vemula ended his life. The atrocities on Dalits are increasing in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and BJP-ruled States. Yet, Modiji doesn’t utter a word. The same man garlands Ambedkar statue to show that he is pro-dalit.”
Reiterating Congress’ commitment to the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he claimed that half of the amount that Modi-led Union government spent for the welfare of these communities in the entire country was spent by the Siddaramaiah-led State government for Karnataka alone.
Farm loans
Comparing Mr. Modi and Mr. Siddaramaiah over their commitments to the welfare of farmers, Mr. Gandhi recalled how his request for waiving farm loans borrowed from nationalised and scheduled banks was turned down by the Prime Minister.
“In view of consecutive droughts and burden of indebtedness on the farmers’ shoulder, I went to the Prime Minister's office and requested for waiver of farm loans from nationalised banks. But, Mr. Modi didn’t utter a word. Later he did write off Rs. 2.5 lakh crore corporate loans borrowed by 15 businessmen. I asked Mr. Siddaramaiah whether he could waive farm loans borrowed from cooperative institutions. He did it within 10 days. It shows who is pro-corporate and who is pro-farmer.”
Mr. Gandhi also promised waiver of farm loans borrowed from nationalised banks within 10 days of assuming power at the Centre in 2019.
Aggressively countering Mr. Modi on his corruption charges against Congress, Mr. Gandhi questioned BJP for declaring B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was jailed on corruption charges, as its Chief Ministerial candidate for Karnataka. “We had jailed Reddy brothers who looted the State. Mr. Modi, however, ensured their release. Now, he is making attempts to push these looters into the Assembly. We will not allow this to happen,” he added.
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal, Ministers Sharan Prakash Patil and Priyank Kharge and Congress candidates for different constituencies were present.
