People remember only Modi, not me: HD Kumaraswamy

People of this state have forgotten HD Kumaraswamy who gave Rs 2 lakh loan waiver to farmers, but only remember Narendra Modi who gave Rs 6,000 annually, the former kARNATAKA chief minister lamented.

"This is the unfortunate position that I find myself in," Kumaraswamy said.

Addressing a gathering in Devanahalli, the JD(S) leader said he was able to pool in Rs 25,000 crore for the crop loan waiver for farmers in the fourteen months that he was the CM in 2018-19. "You cannot find it in any other state. However, people remember only PM-KISAN, which was a copy of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's initiative," he said.

He also charged that the BJP government is only interested in "commission" and not welfare measures. To get any work done there was a "Super CM" who directed people where to deposit the commission, he claimed, hinting at allegations of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's son wielding proxy power. "Any criticism of the CM is perceived as me being jealous of a Veerashaiva leader in power. Hence I am refraining from criticism," he added.

Asking people to vote him to power in the 2023 Assembly polls, Kumaraswamy promised "Pancharatna" programmes, including housing for all, improved healthcare, education, focus on agriculture and employment for youth. "We will set up one public school in each of the panchayats within one year. A similar project for hospitals will also be taken up," he said.