BELAGAVI: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, insulted great kings and queens of India like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Kittur Rani Channamma.
“Modi has said a big lie during his speech in Belagavi today. Every time he comes to Belagavi, he lies. He has now said a new lie that we have insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji and Kittur Rani Channamma,” the CM said after inaugurating the Prajadhwani-2 convention in Belagavi while campaigning for Congress candidate Mrinal Hebbalkar.
Mrinal is the son of Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.
“It was our government that celebrated the birth anniversary of Rani Channamma for the first time. We are the people who see Shivaji Maharaj with respect. We have constituted the Sangolli Rayanna Development Authority. Therefore, people should not believe in the half-baked lies of Modi,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that the PM only spread lies wherever he went in the last 10 years and failed to fulfill even one promise he had made to the people.
The CM also took on the BJP leaders over the guarantee schemes of his government. “First, they insulted the beneficiaries. Now, they are claiming that the guarantees will be discontinued after the elections,” he said, adding that the guarantees will not be stopped for the next five years. “We have already reserved the funds required to implement the guarantees for the next year,” he said.
He further appealed to the voters to consider him their candidate and make Congress win with a huge majority. “Let us defeat Jagadish Shettar in Belagavi and send him back home,” the CM said.
Guarantees helped poor: DKS
Deputy CM DK Shivkumar said that the guarantees have helped the people who were in a crisis after the Covid-19 pandemic. “Guarantee schemes have helped people. No woman has gone down the wrong path using this money,” he said, targeting state JDS chief and former CM HD Kumaraswamy.
Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar said that Shettar’s contribution to Belagavi was zero. He shifted IITs and IT-BT companies to Hubballi from Belagavi, she alleged.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi said that it was the Congress that stood with the people when the Britishers looted the country.