Amit Shah was addressing a huge gathering in Udupi.
Udupi:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the people of Karnataka should elect a double engine government in the state by voting for the BJP instead of the “reverse gear” government of the Congress in the May 10 assembly elections.
Addressing a huge gathering in Udupi, he said that the Narendra Modi-led central government brought various schemes worth Rs 2,26,418 crore to Karnataka during the last four years, while the previous UPA government had given only Rs. 99,000 crore was provided. ,
He said, “The reverse gear government of the Congress will only turn Karnataka into their ATM state. The BJP will have to come to power to ensure prosperity, development and peace.”
Shah asked people not to trust the Congress, which had supported the Popular Front of India (PFI) when it was in power, for political gains. He said that the BJP government had banned the organization and put its leaders behind bars.
Shri Shah said that the declared policy of the BJP is zero tolerance towards extremist activities while the Congress during its rule tried to divide the society.
He said the ‘guarantee card’ issued by the Congress will not work in Karnataka. “The survival of the Congress is not guaranteed. Who will trust their guarantee card for governance,” he said.
Shah alleged, “Corruption, appeasement politics and familyism are their only guarantees.”
The Union Minister said that people have rejected the Congress guarantee schemes released in Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh during elections. The people of Karnataka will follow suit, he said and urged the voters of the coastal region not to give even a single seat to the Congress in the region.
He said the BJP government in Karnataka scrapped the four per cent reservation for Muslims and increased the quota for Lingayat, Vokkaliga, OBC and SC-ST categories because the party believes in equality. He said, even Ambedkar was not in favor of reservation on the basis of religion.
Listing the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, he said that Manmohan Singh’s 10-year UPA rule cannot be compared in any way with the nine-year development work of the Modi-led BJP government. “The whole world recognizes and is proud of Modi’s achievements,” he said.
Hitting out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark that Prime Minister Modi was like a poisonous snake, Shah said no one would make such remarks against Modi. He said that such attempts to defame the Prime Minister should be opposed.
He highlighted the subsidy schemes for fishermen in the coastal region and the benefits given to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center had also imposed an import duty on arecanut to help growers earn impressive income.
Shah also cautioned people against voting for Janata Dal (S) candidates in the state. “JD(S) is the B team of Congress and voting for them means voting only for Congress,” he said.
The Union Minister said that a vote for the BJP in 2023 would ensure Karnataka’s development through a double engine government and lay the foundation for a Modi-led BJP government at the Center in 2024 as well.
Karnataka will go to polls on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)