Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah has complained that Congress leaders were criticising the BJP now, without having done enough for the people when they were in power.
At the two rallies in Belagavi and Bagalkot on Sunday, he said that the Congress had not taken pro-people steps while it was in government.
He quoted from various figures to say that the Union and State governments had implemented several schemes for the welfare of farmers and the poor. He said that crores of poor families had been given electricity connections, cooking gas and toilets. In Karnataka, the B.S. Yediyurappa government has released cash incentives to labour, autorickshaw drivers, construction workers and others, he said.
In Bagalkot, he questioned the Congress why it had not thought of schemes such as the PM Kisan Samman where farmers get cash incentive and PM Fasal Bima Yojana where crops are insured.
In Belagavi, he said that the Congress had led a corrupt government with bad economic management for nearly seven decades. Their corruption runs to the tune of ₹ 12 lakh crore, he said. They did little for the poor. Why were millions of houses without power supply or cooking gas? Why are still millions of poor people without a roof over their head? Why did the poor not get health insurance? he asked.
He said that the Centre had released ₹ 2.42 lakh crore to Karnataka under the 14th Finance Commission, as against the ₹ 88,000 crore released by the Congress government under the 13th Finance Commission. Will the Congress explain this? he asked. The Congress said that it would eradicate poverty, but it eradicated the poor, he said.
According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had resolved several issues that were pending for 70 years. “All Prime Ministers, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh did not have the courage to tackle the Kashmir situation. It took a brave Prime Minister like Narendra Modi to root out Article 370 from the Constitution and integrate Kashmir into India. Now, the Indian flag flutters in the Kashmir sky,” he said. According to him, the Ayodhya temple issue and the evil practice of Triple Talaq were handled only because Mr. Modi was in power.
“Our borders are safe because of Mr. Modi. Pakistan tried to attack us twice, but both times, they got a fitting reply,” he said. The threat of terror has died down, he said.
Mr. Shah described Belagavi as the confluence of Kannadiga and Marathi cultures. He recalled the brave warriors Belagadi Mallamma, Kittur Rani Channamma and Sangolli Rayanna.
He visited the houses of late Suresh Angadi and also BJP district unit general secretary Raju Chikkanagoudar who died recently.