Cong ups ante against BJP in Karnataka

MANGALURU: All India Congress Committee (AICC) Communication Department Convener Priyanka Chaturvedi said divide and misrule is BJP’s patented political strategy at the cost of nation’s interests. She said BJP is pitting community against community to garner votes.

“The Congress government is committed to law and order and a peaceful Karnataka, but the BJP has the other intentions. Centuries of societal peace, harmony and co-existence has been one of the definitive characteristics of this region, but this is now under threat. The BJP and its allies, having realized that they can never match our agenda of development, have resorted to the basest means of ensuring electoral gains. By pitting community against community, they seek to garner votes, but the chaos their methods have created is clear for all to see. This is not only a deplorable means of fighting an election, but is also destructive to the peace and harmony in the region,” Priyanka said.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Priyanka also asked six questions related to recent developments to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”The Modi government has repeatedly nominated and elected non-Kannadigas as Rajya Sabha representatives from Karnataka, the latest being Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Can they really represent Karnataka’s best interests in Parliament? Aren’t there any people from Karnataka for BJP to choose from,” she questioned.

The rules for IBPS exams to work in regional rural banks were modified and the exams were now held in English/ Hindi and not in Kannada, she said and requested change in rules to allow candidates to write the paper in Kannada.

Priyanka questioned the central government’s decision to shift the CRPF headquarters to Chandauli in UP, from Taralu in Karnataka even though UP already has five CRPF centers.

In April 2017, Karnataka was awarded a mere 1,435.95 crore even though the state suffered from the worst drought in 45 years. BJP ruled states received a much higher amount in disaster relief with Maharashtra being allocated Rs 8,195 crore, Gujarat Rs 3,894 crore and Rajasthan Rs 2,153 crore, Priyanka said and questioned, “Why this step motherly treatment to Karnataka.” She also questioned the central government for not sanctioning funds for farm loan waiver scheme in Karnataka.

Originally published in the Times of India