Mandya: Recent wins in Karnataka show people's trust in Congress - Sonia Gandhi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mandya
Mandya, Sep 30: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi on Monday September 30 arrived here at Sir M Visvesvaraya stadium to a large gathering of Congress leaders, party workers, supporters and public and thanked the people for supporting the Congress in the last Assembly elections as well as the recent by-polls in Mandya and Bangalore Rural.
Beginning her address with a greeting in Kannada, much to the delight of the massive crowd, Sonia Gandhi said, "The last time I had come here, before the state Assembly elections, I had requested the people to support Congress and help it regain power in the state. I thank all Congress party workers, and all men and women of this state for electing Congress. It shows your trust in Congress."
She also said that by choosing Congress over JD(S) in the recent Lok Sabha by-polls in Mandya and Bangalore Rural, the people had revived Congress in these two districts where JD(S) had a stronghold.
Emphasizing that the state Congress government will deliver all its promises made in the manifesto, Sonia Gandhi said that Congress always does what it promises, and the schemes launched in the state in the recent months prove it.
Showering praises on chief minister Siddaramaiah, she said, "Siddaramaiah has struggled a lot for the sake of the people. He has launched schemes like Anna Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya, which have made the entire country proud of Karnataka."
She also praised S M Krishna and said that he had made Bangalore famous world over with the IT revolution.
She also stressed that the farmers are the priority for Congress, and will always remain so. "The land acquisition bill which protects the farmers itself proves that Congress gives priority to the welfare of farmers. The food bill will ensure that no one goes hungry," she said.
"We are proud of our farmers and farmers will always be the centre of our policies," she added.
'Entire Congress backing Dr Manmohan Singh'
Urging people to once again vote for Congress in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, she came out in strong defence of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and said that the entire Congress party is with the PM.
"They (BJP) make fun of the party and the Prime Minister. I want to tell them that the whole party stands behind the Prime Minister. Under his leadership, the government has made all these achievements," she said.
Lambasting the opposition BJP, she declared, "We are not afraid of anyone. We are not afraid of the opposition. We will make sincere efforts to work for the people of Karnataka and people of the whole country."
Gandhi said the Bharatiya Janata Party "divides people" while "we bind the people together".
She said the BJP tried to scuttle the "historic" food security bill in parliament by saying it was against farmers.
Terming the food security bill, land acquisition bill, RTI and measures to protect interests of women as "historic", Gandhi said "no other government has achieved what the UPA (United Progressive Alliance government) has been able to in the last ten years".
She questioned why the BJP did not bring these bills when it led the central government or was in power in Karnataka. The BJP lost to the Congress in the May assembly election.
"They do not care for you," Gandhi told the rally.
"The Congress follows the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, and its history had great leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi," she added.
CM Siddaramaiah said that Sonia Gandhi's purpose of visiting the state was to thank the people of Karnataka and especially Mandya for choosing Congress. "The people of Mandya have blessed Ramya, and so also people of Bangalore Rural," he said.
He also said that Congress government had improved the condition of women, minorities and physically challenged people, which had dwindled during the BJP government's regime.
Urging the people to bless Congress once again in the forthcoming elections, he said that his government will strive to make Karnataka the number one state in the country in the next five years.
KPCC chief Dr Parameshwar welcomed the gathering.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara, former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna, who hails from Mandya, union ministers Mallikarjun Kharge, M Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh, popular Kannada actor and state minister M H Ambareesh, who also belongs to Mandya, and newly elected Lok Sabha members popular Kannada film actor Ramya from Mandya and D K Suresh from Bangalore Rural shared the dais with Gandhi.
Meanwhile, there was some chaos at the venue when members of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti showed black flags to Sonia Gandhi and were reportedly beaten up by the police.