Accusing the BJP of snatching people’s money and handing it over to the rich and wealthy, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Congress government in Karnataka was investing money in the welfare of the people.
Addressing a Congress rally at Chamarajanagar in poll-bound Karnataka, Mr. Gandhi said the Narendra Modi government, which had refused to waive farm loans, had waived Rs. 2.5 lakh crore of public money to benefit a handful of the rich. On the other hand, the Congress government in Karnataka invests State funds in education, health, farmers and farmers’ loan waiver, he said.
The Congress government in the State, which waived Rs. 8,000 crore of farm loans, has spent three times more than the previous BJP government in the State on providing irrigation. The Siddaramaiah government has provided interest-free loans upto Rs. 3 lakh to thousands of farmers, he said.
While the previous BJP government “misused public money through corrupt practices,” Mr. Gandhi said, citing the jailing of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and four his colleagues, the Congress government had provided rice to the poor under Anna Bhagya, milk under Ksheera Bhagya, free cycles to five lakh students, and books to 61 lakh students. The government will also provide free education to girls till they complete their postgraduation, he added.
Half of the amount spent by the Modi government on SC and ST welfare in the country has been spent by Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka alone, he added.
He also criticised Mr. Modi for demonetisation and accused him of allowing the rich people to convert their black money into white on the sly. “Did you see any crorepati standing in the queues in front of the banks (to deposit the demonetised currency)?”, he asked the gathering.
Recalling his interaction with students of Maharani’s Girls College earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi said a student told him that demonetisation brought no change or benefit to the country. A questioner also wondered why several slabs were needed for GST. “When 18- to 20-year-old girls can understand economics, why can’t our Prime Minister”, Mr. Gandhi remarked.
Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spoke and said the BJP has no moral right to accuse the Congress government of corruption when its Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa and other BJP Ministers went to jail on corruption charges.
“Isn’t it shameful that the Prime Minister accuses our government of corruption with Mr. Yeddyurappa sitting next to him?”, he said.
