Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the previous BJP government of looting the state of `1 lakh crore.
At a well-attended public meeting at Sirsi town here, he appealed to the public to teach the saffron party a lesson in the Lok Sabha polls. “The previous BJP government in Karnataka broke all corruption records. The amount that was looted during the BJP’s regime would have been more than sufficient to irrigate every acre in the state,” he said.
He also accused the BJP of bringing a bad name to the state.
“Karnataka and Bangalore were known worldwide for strides in IT and BT. Visionary leaders like Nijalingappa and Devaraj Urs had ensured social and political empowerment of the entire society,” he said.
Rahul said the Congress had painstakingly laid a strong foundation for the state’s development, but the BJP “spoiled everything”.
Rahul also made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Bellary Reddy brothers when he said China’s infrastructure development was funded by “the loot of the Bellary Janata Party”.
He also touched upon B S Yeddyurappa’s induction into the BJP, saying the party’s central leadership sees corruption everywhere except in Karnataka.
He also played the pro-poor card of the Congress and said it is a party that not only wants to develop buildings, roads and railway lines, but also wants to share this with the society’s vulnerable.
He also used the platform to heap praise on the Siddaramaiah government and said programmes such as Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya and loan waiver for minorities were aimed at inclusive growth.
He said the UPA Government has raised the living standard over 15 crore people living below poverty line. “Our next target is to push over 70 crore people, including dhobis and taxi drivers, into the middle class,” he said.
Rahul promised that if Congress comes to power, it would introduce bills like Right to Health Service, Right to Employment and reservation for women in politics.
During his another address in Raichur, Rahul asked voters from the state to back the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls as the party, unlike the BJP, managed to amend Article 371(J) to help those in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
He said the BJP had failed to keep its word to farmers in the state.
“We brought the Right to Information Act to bring transparency in administration. Programmes like Anna Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya were introduced for the poor. The Congress has been in favour of the poor and farmers,” he said.
He pooh-poohed the so-called development in Gujarat under Narendra Modi and said malnourishment and dropout rates were high in Gujarat.
Addressing a party workers meet in Bangalore later, he said the Congress believed in partnership growth while the BJP’s thinking was to give power in the hands of a few.