'Cong positive about defeating BJP in polls'

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara exuded confidence on Monday that the party would defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next Assembly elections.

Parameshwara, who released a report titled ‘Two years - truthful steps’ to mark the completion of his two years as the State party president, outlined the programmes he had drawn up over the past few months towards “effective organisation” of the party.

Programmes like ‘Nada Rakshana Nadige’, ‘Congress Nadige Janara Balige’, and ‘Chinthan Manthan’ had helped in reaching out to the grass-roots-level workers, thereby, expanding the party base, he said.

On the party’s achievements, he said that it had successfully highlighted the State government’s non-utilisation of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds, convinced the Centre to accord special status to Hyderabad-Karnataka region, staged peaceful protests against the “corrupt” BJP government and toured drought-hit districts, he added.

The party launched the Radio Frequency ID cards for presidents of district Congress committees, booth committees and block committees on the occasion.

The ID cards, which are said to be one of its kind, will contain profiles of the presidents. Thus they would be able to access information on attendance, minutes of meetings, etc. The party also launched its portal Management Information System.

‘SMK to play crucial role’

Parameshwara said that the possible return of former external affairs minister S M Krishna to Karnataka politics meant good news for the State unit, as it would boost the party’s prospects in the next elections.

The senior leader will play a “crucial” role in the upcoming Assembly elections, he added.