The BJP election manifesto is a pointless document, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said in Belagavi on Monday.
“The BJP-led NDA government has been ruling at the Centre for 10 years now. They have very few achievements to show. If you have failed in fulfilling the assurances made a decade ago, what is the point in giving big assurances now?” the KPCC president said.
“That is why I say the BJP manifesto is a pointless document,” he told reporters on Monday.
“I would like to ask a question to BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What were the assurances that you have been giving since the last decade? What were the promises you made before the people of the country before 2014? How many of them have you fulfilled? What is the status update on your promises? What do you feel about not fulfilling them? Do you feel guilty or not? If you go on giving assurances after assurances, it only means that you have no shame,” he said.
“I think that the BJP has no moral right to release the manifesto. Nothing of importance has been achieved in the last 10 years. The promised jobs were not created. Farmers income was not doubled. I want to ask the BJP leaders with what face will they face the public with another manifesto? When this is the case, the people will not pay heed to such documents,” he said.
He demanded that the BJP should release a report on its administration and various schemes and development projects implemented in various sectors since 2014, instead of releasing a manifesto.
He claimed that there was no pro-Modi wave in the State. “If that was the case, why did they change 14 of their candidates? Where have most of the sitting MPs and big party leaders gone?” he asked. “Karnataka has a wave in favour of the Congress. In fact, there is no Modi wave in the entire country. All the surveys that are predicting the BJP’s victory are false. The BJP will lose and the Congress will form the government,” he said.
“Due to his insulting remarks, the former Chief Minister and Janata Dal(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy has put a blot on the women of the State. What does he mean to say that women have gone astray due to the government’s guarantee schemes. Women of the State should immediately start an agitation against Mr. Kumaraswamy,” he said.
“Mr. Kumaraswamy has insulted the mothers and daughters of all the beneficiary families of guarantee schemes. Mr. Kumaraswamy is now saying that he regrets his remarks. I am not ready to listen to him. The women of the State will also not forgive him,” he said.
“Women should teach a lesson to Mr. Kumaraswamy and his party nominees in this election itself. We stand in solidarity with the women. He has insulted women in the past also,” he said.
“He has been accusing me of being a swindler. He is speaking of himself. He has a lot of experience in blackmailing others,” he said.
Mr. Shivakumar said that the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr. Kumaraswamy are opportunistic. “Just one year ago, they were highly critical of Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah. But now, they are praising him and have entered into an alliance with his party,” he said.
Mr Shivakumar challenged Mr. Kumaraswamy to prove the allegations against him on the floor of the Assembly.
