In her first public rally in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said in Hubballi on Saturday that power had made the BJP government arrogant and made them not accountable to the people.
Addressing a rally to campaign for party candidates in Hubballi-Dharwad and surrounding areas, Ms. Gandhi said BJP leaders had become insensitive and audacious. “The BJP government seems to think that constitutional agencies that are supposed to be independent, are in its pocket. Is that how you run a democracy?” she asked.
Greeting Shettar
“It seems the BJP has institutionalised corruption and expects people to live with it. Some of them have made corruption a profession,” she said. Before the rally, she greeted Jagadish Shettar, who recently joined the Congress after quitting the BJP.
“BJP leaders are intimidating people. They openly state that there would be riots if the BJP is defeated and that the people of Karnataka will not get Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessing if their party is defeated,” she said. “I want to tell them that the people of Karnataka should not be taken so lightly. The people are not waiting for someone’s blessing. They rely on their strength and hard work. This is the land of Sri Basaveshwara and poet Kuvempu. The people here are guided by their ideologies. They are not afraid of anyone. They are confident of their internal strength. They will teach a lesson to the BJP.”
Harking back to history
She invoked memories of the elections in Chikkamagaluru in which Indira Gandhi was elected and the one in Ballari where she defeated BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. “The people of Chikkamagaluru lent a helping hand to Indira Gandhi when she was facing some political changes. And the people of Ballari supported me 24 years ago. We are forever grateful to the people of Karnataka,” she said.
She congratulated Rahul Gandhi for leading the pan-India Bharat Jodo Yatra, which she said was aimed at ending hate and spreading love. “Our country will not develop till we end the politics of hate,” she said. “I request you to vote for the Congress candidates across the State. Kindly do not sacrifice the interests of Karnataka for the interests of selfish BJP leaders.”
AICC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders, including Mr. Gandhi, addressed the rally.
‘Give 125 seats’
At a Congress campaign rally at Bhootaramanahatti village in Yamakanamaradi constituency in Belagavi district, Mr. Gandhi appealed to people to give the party full majority so that the BJP does not indulge in horse-trading of legislators.
“I request the voters of Karnataka to give the Congress a comfortable majority of 125 seats, as it will prevent horse-trading. Because if we get any lesser number of seats, the BJP will begin the game of buying legislators. And a government that comes to power after committing theft of MLAs, will indulge in nothing but theft,” he said.
