JOIN USCorrupt '10% sarkar' ruling Karnataka, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lambasted the Congress government in the state on the issue of corruption, terming it a "10% sarkar" and vowed to make Karnataka "Congress mukth" (free of Congress) in the coming Assembly elections.
Addressing a large gathering in Hindi, he marked the conclusion of BJP's Navakarnataka Parivarthana Yatra at the sprawling Palace Grounds and hit out at the government’s law and order record. "When the Centre is working towards ensuring ease of living, Karnataka is debating about 'ease of doing murders'. Those who oppose the incumbent government are being muzzled. It is a dangerous development in democracy," he stated and called upon people to give a fitting reply by throwing the government out in the elections.
In his first, full-fledged public rally in poll-bound Karnataka, the prime minister said, "Nothing happens without 10% cut. Taking commission has become the hallmark of the government. Builder and sand mafias are ruling the roost. Two of the Cabinet ministers were raided by the income tax department and a senior Congress leader is facing charges of owning disproportionate assets."
Modi said the people of Bengaluru recently witnessed how the government tried to swindle crores of rupees under the pretext of implementing the steel bridge project. "The state government has scaled new heights in corruption. Days for Congress-free Karnataka are not far. The state should be free of the party that is in favour of dynastic rule and corruption," he added.
The crowd, estimated at around one lakh, erupted into applause when Modi commenced his speech in Kannada and invoked noted personalities like Basavanna, Sangolli Rayanna, and Kempegowda. In the same breath, he said: "I have not seen such a crowd before. The whole country is seeing which direction the wind is blowing. The countdown for the Congress government has started. The Congress is standing at the exit gate."
Modi devoted much of his 52-minute speech to patting his own back by explaining the pro-people measures taken by his government and how the Siddaramaiah government has been lax in implementing them in the state.
The prime minister also promised to develop next generation infrastructure in the state, especially Bengaluru, by taking up metro rail and suburban rail projects and providing better education and healthcare facilities.