BJP spreading hate, resorting to divisive politics: Rahul Gandhi

AICC president Rahul Gandhi said that BJP has been spreading hate among people from different castes, religions and regions in the country. Wherever they go, they are engaged in dividing the society, he alleged.

Speaking at the election campaign in Bantwal on Friday, he said that the Congress takes altogether.

The party’s manifesto has been prepared by taking into consideration the needs of all the people, he said.

He gave a clarion call to the party workers to bring the party to power once again in Karnataka. Hitting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for levelling corruption charges against the Congress-led government in Karnataka, he said when Modi stands on stage, on his one side is B S Yeddyurappa, who has spent time in jail, on his other side are the Reddy brothers who too have spent time in jail.

In spite of that, tickets have been given for the Reddy brothers who looted the resources of Karnataka when the BJP was in power, he said.

The amount of money that the previous UPA government used under MGNREGA is the same amount that was looted by the Reddy brothers in Karnataka, he said.

He claimed that the Centre has waived loans amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh crore of rich industrialists and declined to waive off the loans borrowed by the farmers.

Rahul questioned Prime Minister about his pre-election promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of the citizens of the country.

Taking a dig at the rise in the price of petroleum products, Rahul Gandhi said that the price of petroleum products have been increasing in spite of a decline in the price in the international market.

The Congress chief said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to utter a word when an eight-year-old child was sexually assaulted and murdered in Kathua and a woman was sexually assaulted in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

“It was only after the Congress took out a candlelight march, then that Modi condemned the atrocities on women,” the AICC president said during his campaign speech.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said all those who looted the resources of Karnataka including B S Yeddyurappa, Reddy brothers, Sriramulu and Shobha Karanadlaje, in 2008 are united once again.

“The Congress has fulfilled a majority of the promises it made during 2013 elections. The BJP had failed to fulfil even 20% of the promises it made in 2008. According to Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s report, Reddy brothers had looted resources worth Rs 1 lakh crore in Ballari. The law and order situation during the BJP tenure had collapsed in Ballari. Should we give power to looters once again,?” he asked.

Stating that the voters in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada are intelligent, he said in spite of the effort of the BJP to convert coastal belt into a laboratory for its communal experiments, and engage in politics over death, the people of the district were not carried away by their false promises.

The people should vote to root out the BJP, he said.

Further, he said Karnataka is already number 1 in 31 sectors in the country, in the next five years, we will take Karnataka to number 1 position in all the sectors by building a “Nava Karnataka.”

Poojary arrives

When veteran leader Janardhan Poojary arrived at the stage, Rahul Gandhi stood and held his hand and offered him a seat next to him.
Candidates Ramanath Rai, J R Lobo, U T Khader, Shakunthala Shetty, Dr Raghu and Mohiuddin Bava were seated on another platform.

‘No talk on Doklam’

Congress president Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the issues of Doka La during his visit to China.

He said that India wanted him (Modi) to talk about crucial issues like Doklam where China has placed its troops.