Modi tried to break Unity and Integrity of the Country – CM Kumaraswamy
Kundapur: “A government’s job is to build the nation and not to divide or break it. What has Narendra Modi’s government done in the last 5 years other than trying to break the unity and integrity of the country?” questioned chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
He was addressing the fisherwomen’s convention at the Gandhi Maidan Kundapur on Wednesday, April 3.
“In his five years of tenure, Modi should have created about 10 crore jobs as he had promised to create two crore jobs every year. But the statistics reflect only 27 lakh jobs being created in his tenure. So the youth of our country should think before voting for them again. Modi is not able to protect the interests of the youth.”
Taking a further dig at Modi, Kumaraswamy said, “India has not seen a Prime Minister who lies more than Narendra Modi! There is chaos in the country because of his false promises. Nobody in his government is concerned and bothered about the poor, farmers, Dalits, women and minorities.”
Kumaraswamy called upon the people not to yield to emotional blackmail by the BJP for votes. “The mission in this election is also to defeat the anti-development and communal BJP. The BJP has spent nearly Rs 550 crores for advertisements, so news channels are projecting surveys favouring BJP. But the reality is different and that will be exposed on May 23,” he said.
“PM Modi is misusing the Income Tax Dept to threaten political leaders of Karnataka from the JDS and the Congress. The BJP government had initiated IT raids on the Congress and JD(S) leaders during the 2018 Assembly elections. Now it has been happening ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The IT department is free to act against those who are at fault. But why is not a single BJP leader targeted by the IT department in Karnataka?” he questioned.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was misusing the IT department for political gain and that the “people are watching”. Whatever the Modi government does to harass the opposition leaders, it will be the people who will have the final say and they will teach the BJP a bitter lesson in the coming elections, he added.
The chief minister said that the rule which had fixed the waiting period for up to seven years in order to declare a missing person as dead had been revised. “As an interim step, a compensation of Rs one lakh has been given to families of the missing fishermen. The government has hopes to bring the fishermen back safe. The government is in constant touch with the defence minister and the Maharashtra government,” he added.
The BJP candidate for Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency, Shobha Karandlaje and declared that she had done nothing for the welfare of fishermen. “It is sad that, in spite of having a BJP government at the Centre, she did nothing when seven fishermen went missing,” he said.
He also urged voters to reject BJP which only has a communal agenda.
“The prime minister is playing with the lives of soldiers. He acts as if none of the previous prime ministers was concerned about the welfare of the armed forces,” Kumaraswamy criticised.
He stressed that when the Modi-led government had announced a waiver of Rs 45,000 crore farm loan, it should also waive the loan of fishermen, which is minimal.
He appealed to the electorate to support the JDS – Congress candidate Pramod Madhwaraj as he has worked hard and has “carried out the highest development works during his tenure as MLA which could not have been done by any other MLA in the state”.
Pramod Madhwaraj, the Congress – JD(S) coalition candidate for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency addressing the gathering said, “The Modi-led NDA government has not done anything concrete in the last five years other than changing names of welfare projects of the previous UPA government.”
He further said, “Those who use the name of Modi are unaware of the work carried out by Modi. Demonetisation and faulty implementation of the GST has only caused inconvenience to the people. The economy has been hit by the policies of the government,” he added.
“I have said that I will felicitate those whose income has increased in the last five years. So far, however, no one has come forward to accept the felicitation,” the former MLA pointed out.
Madhwaraj said that the Congress, under the leadership of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, has proposed NYAY, a minimum income guarantee scheme of Rs 6,000 a month to 20% of the poorest households in the country.
He also said, “The coalition parties have convinced the leaders of the coalition. The votes secured by the parties will help the coalition candidate win the elections. The JD(S) issued me a B-Form that has been accepted by the Election Commission”.
The problems encountered by the people in Chikkamagaluru and Udupi districts are different. “Chikkamagaluru district faces the problem of lack of irrigation, encroachment and problems faced by forest dwellers. The people should elect an MP who can become the voice of such growers and forest dwellers,” he added.
Udupi District minister in-charge Dr Jayamala, Rajyasabha MP Oscar Fernandes, MLC Bhoje Gowda, former MLA Gopal Poojary, Congress leader Rakesh Malli, U R Sabhapathi, Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, JDS leader Yogish Shetty and others were present.
