Congress is cheating voters by giving false assurances: Karnataka CM Bommai

Kalaburagi (Karnataka) [India], April 20 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday alleged that the Congress party is "cheating voters by giving false assurances" in the state as no single recruitment had been done in this region during their tenure.

While speaking at a public function to campaign for the BJP candidate Malikayya Guttedar in Afzalpur, CM Bommai said, "Congress party is cheating voters by giving false assurances in the state. They have cheated the Kalyana Karnataka region. No single recruitment had been done in this region. The Congress Government had earmarked Rs 1000 crore for the development of Kalyana Karnataka but not spent it."

"They buy time to spend that money. Article 371 J was implemented but it needs to be brought into action. Any law on the piece of paper was not useful. The Congress leaders owe an explanation of what development has been done after Article 371 J came into effect. The classrooms or roads are not improved," he added.

On the occasion, CM Bommai said that in the name of Dalits, Congress prospered in the region but the development of Dalits never happened.

"Opposition Leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah talks of social justice and claims himself as the protector of the poor, downtrodden, and Dalits. They prospered in the name of Dalits but the development of Dalits never happened. The Congress leaders advised against hiking the reservation for the SC/ST by saying it was a hornet's nest but the BJP government went ahead without bothering about its consequences," he said.

"Now, the Congress party talks of cancelling the reservation if it comes to power. Leaders of that party must tell openly whether they are pro-reservation or anti-reservation. I did not know why the AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is silent. Voting for the Congress party means the cancellation of the reservation. So, the people must not vote for that party. The Congress leaders have forgotten Basavanna and Ambedkar," he added.

He further mentioned that the BJP candidate Malikayya V Guttedar will win the upcoming election with record votes.

"Guttedar has been with the people and responded to their problems. The BJP candidate will win the coming election with record votes. The Congress leaders of this region failed to do any development work in the last five years. While Guttedar was here, he implemented the Afzalpur Lift Irrigation Scheme," he said.

"The BJP government had done development worth Rs 3,000 crore and reserved Rs 5000 crore in the current fiscal. Each constituency had been given Rs 100 crore grants. As many as 24 PHC centres have been started. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to provide water to every house and accordingly, 40 lakh houses have been given water connections in the state. The Congress government, in the last 72 years, had given water connection to 25 lakh houses but the BJP government had given tap water to 40 lakh houses in just three years," he added.

The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.