VIJAYAPURA: Accusing the BJP leaders of only speaking about Lord Basaveshwara in their speeches and not following his ideologies, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the saffron party was completely working against the ideology of the social reformer.
Addressing a mega rally after holding a road show on the occasion of Basava Jayanti in Vijayapura on Sunday, the former MP said that while the Congress believed in the principles and ideology of Basavanna which is uniting the society, the BJP and the RSS believed in dividing the nation into religious lines. Stating that one of the prominent principles of Basavanna was to divide the nation’s wealth among the needy, the former Congress president said that the BJP is distributing the nation’s wealth to only a few corporate giants such as Adani.
“I have tried to read and learn about Basaveshwara... but I found nowhere that he ever said that national wealth should go to only a few rich people. But BJP is doing so by handing over public sector units to Adani,” the Congress leader said.
Referring to the allegation of the BJP government taking 40% commission in clearing the bills of the contractors, Rahul said Basavanna nowhere said that public money should be looted in the form of commission.
“BJP is running the most corrupt government in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says in his speeches that he is against corruption, but in reality, he is not. This is why he has not replied to the letter of the contractors association which has alleged that the BJP government is taking 40% commission. Modi has not replied to the letter to date and I know he will never reply,” he charged.
Claiming that the Congress has given assurances to the people by getting inspired by Basavanna’s ideologies, Rahul said that the guarantees of the Congress for the people of Karnataka are based on the principles of equality and helping the needy.
Alleging that this 40% commission money is being used by the BJP to purchase the MLAs and topple the Congress government, he said that the BJP will not be successful in Karnataka after the assembly polls.
“BJP will not purchase our MLAs because Congress will be forming the government after winning 150 seats. The BJP which is taking 40% commission will get only 40 seats in the upcoming polls,” he added.
Accusing the government of not making the caste census report public, Rahul said that only the caste census can tell the exact population of different communities. “I am challenging Modi to make the census public. We will first put pressure on the Modi government to make it public... if he fails to do so, then we will do it when we will come to power,” he added. The Congress leader also demanded that the Modi government remove the cap of 50% on the reservation and give quota based on the population of each community.
Earlier in the day, Rahul paid tribute to Lord Basaveshwara at Kudalasangama in Bagalkot district. He said Basavanna rose up against caste discrimination, exploitation, atrocities and superstition during his times and questioned the evil practices. The 12th-century reformer became a guiding light to the entire nation by taking the path of truth, Rahul said.
“Lord Basaveshwara introduced the path of democracy to India and the world. And this is the truth that cannot be destroyed. Later, the democratic system and Parliament took shape in India,” he added.
“Basavanna did not leave the path of truth throughout his life and spoke out the truth without any fear. It is not easy to speak the truth before society. Despite threats, Basavanna did not deviate from the path of truth and questioned bad practices in the society, so he is respected till today,” he added.