Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah said in Mandya on Tuesday that there is a direct fight between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) in Mandya although the BJP is in the fray. The JD(S) had won the Council poll last time in Mandya and the Congress candidate Dinesh Gooli Gowda will romp home in this election, he said, adding that 4,025 voters will be casting their ballot.
Arguing that there is an anti-BJP wave in the State, Mr. Siddaramaiah said political polarisation has begun with the common people and elected representatives fed up with the BJP-led Central government and the BJP government in the State over alleged “anti-people” governance.
“The BJP governments have failed to fulfill promises made to the people. There is a Congress wave in the State with the people disillusioned with the BJP rule both at the Centre and the State,” he claimed, while addressing press persons in Mandya.
Decentralisation of power
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who campaigned for the party candidate, said only Congress believes in decentralisation of power while other parties did very little for taking power to the villages. “It is Congress that gave strength to panchayat raj institutions as it believed in Ram Manohar Lohia’s vision on decentralisation of power. The BJP government at the Centre did little on this issue,” he maintained.
Lashing out at the NDA government, Mr Siddaramaiah asked, “What have the Modi Government and the BJP government in the State done for the empowerment of villages? It was former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who introduced MGNREGA, making way for the flow of grants to GPs.”
He accused the government of not releasing funds for making payment to those working under MGNREGA. These workers had faced a lot of problems when they had no work under the programme during the post-COVID-19 phase.
Claiming that his government had constructed 15 lakh houses in five years, the former CM said the BJP government, in the last one-and-a-half years, has not constructed a single house for the poor. “Why should people vote for this government when they cannot build houses for the poor,” he questioned.
‘No relief yet to farmers’
Mr. Siddaramaiah said farmers are in distress owing to floods last year and untimely rains this year. Crops in about four lakh hectares were estimated to have been destroyed in the recent rains. But no survey has been done and no relief has been released to farmers so far. “The relief announced during the tenure of B.S. Yediyurappa has not been released yet. The issue was raised in the House on two occasions and the issue will once again be raised in the ensuing session. The people must understand that this government is anti-people and “anti-farmer.”
Attacks Bommai
He accused Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of lying on the distribution of PDS rice. The Chief Minister had said that the Siddaramaiah government gave 7 kg rice a month only for one year which is a lie. “If the BJP leaders claim that the free rice distribution is the Centre’s programme, why free rice is not given to the poor in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,” Mr. Siddaramaiah asked.
He said the BJP government has discontinued his government’s programmes including Indira Canteen, Pashu Bhagya, and Krishi Bhagya.
He also ridiculed the “acche din” slogan of Mr. Modi.
“Our party leaders and workers in Mandya are confident of our party candidate Dinesh Gooli Gowda’s win. I request the voters to give a single vote to our candidate. The Congress’ win will bring strength to the party’s belief of strengthening decentralisation of power,” he replied, on the party’s poll prospect.
He said the Raitha Sangha, workers’ associations and others have extended support to the Congress.
