Raichur(Karnataka): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is nothing but relaunching of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
The yatra is not for the common people, dalits and backward classes, but a quest to make Gandhi relevant in the current political situation, he said and took a dig at Siddaramaiah for working under a small boy and losing his self-respect.
“The Congress leaders are ready to do anything for the sake of power. Rahul Gandhi has been doing padayatra to be relevant in the current political situation. This event is nothing but ‘relaunching’ of Rahul Gandhi and not for the common people, dalits and backward classes,” he said.
“Siddaramaiah has been accompanying such a yatra. What is his status and now where is he? See for yourself. We need not take lessons from him,” Bommai said after inaugurating BJP Sankalp Yatra at Gilesugur village near Raichur on Tuesday.
Terming the Congress party as a sinking ship, Bommai said there has been an exodus of their party leaders to the BJP and indications of this continuing is ripe.
The only minority community that has not left the Congress is the Muslims, but rest others like the dalits and backward classes have left already, Bommai said.
The Congress party never thought about dalits and backward classes while in power, but now they are visiting Raichur as their prince (Gandhi) on Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said.
“The Congress claims that reservation for SC/ST was their contribution, but they ruled for 50 of the total 60 years. They never thought of increasing reservations to bring them to the mainstream. The SC/ST communities are denied education and employment. The Congress governments did not have the common sense of uplifting them,” Bommai said.
However, the incumbent BJP government with the blessings of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has hiked the quota for them and the Congress party was claiming the credit for it, Bommai said. “They had promised many bhagyas but what they had given has been durbhagya (misery) to the SC/ST communities,” he added.
On Congress party calling him an RSS puppet, Bommai said the rival party do not have any moral right to comment on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as it is a patriotic organisation which is striving to keep the country united and serving dalits, backward classes and giving voice to the voiceless in order to bring them to the mainstream of the society.
“The Congress leaders promised to develop the Kalyana Karnataka region and the people believed in their welfare. Due to lack of clear-cut policy, the funds remain unspent.
“Yediyurappa had released Rs 1,800 crore every year and the incumbent government had released Rs 3,000 crore, cleared the action plan and started works,” he said.
