Chief Minister Siddaramaiah speaking at a poll rally at Kollegal in Chamarajanagar (reserved) Lok Sabha constituency on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged voters to choose the Congress as it will fulfil the promises made in the manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections like it did during the Assembly polls in the State.
“You have seen what the Congress government is up to. It kept its promise and implemented all five guarantee schemes. On the same lines, the promises made now [during the polls] will also be fulfilled if it is voted to power,” he said during his election campaign for the party candidate for the Chamarajanagar (reserved) Lok Sabha seat at Kollegal on Friday.
Sunil Bose is the party candidate from the constituency, where the Congress has considerable influence.
The Chief Minister said the party had promised in its election manifesto to provide ₹1 lakh annually to a woman of every poor family. The Nyay Patra had been released by the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, and it would be implemented if the Congress won the polls.
He said the promises made in the manifesto like jobs for youth, implementation of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan committee report etc., would be implemented if the party secured a mandate.
“The Congress implements what it promises, and this has already been proved in Karnataka,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
“If women are getting ₹24,000 annually in Karnataka, they shall get ₹1 lakh annually if the Congress comes to power [at the Centre],” he claimed.
‘BJP spreading lies’
Clarifying that the five guarantees would not be stopped in the State after the Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister blamed the BJP for spreading lies about it. The Congress would not break its promises and the BJP was unable to digest the success of the schemes, he stated.
Criticising Prime Minister Modi and the BJP’s policies, Mr. Siddaramaiah asked the people whether they would vote for the BJP or the Congress. “You decide whom to support – whether to the party that fulfilled all its promises or the party that did not fulfil the promises,” he said.
Women were happily travelling in buses for free because of the Shakti scheme. Today, they were travelling to temples, places of tourist importance, visiting relatives and friends.
He said free power had been given to households and Gruha Lakshmi had empowered women with a monthly grant of ₹2,000 to the woman head in the family.
Under Anna Bhagya, five kg of rice was being distributed and ₹170 was paid instead of another five kg rice to beneficiaries. The BJP government, thinking that the poor would support the Congress, refused to supply rice to the State despite the State government being ready to pay for the grain supplied by the Centre, he charged.
He alleged that the BJP, unable to stand the popularity of the schemes, had started spreading lies and called him “anti-Hindu” and even spread fake news that he did not want Hindu votes.
Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister in charge of Chamarajanagar district K. Venkatesh, KPCC working president Tanveer Sait, MLAs and MLCs, Mr. Bose and other party leaders were present.
