Pics by Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi

Udupi, Apr 14: Luizinho Faleiro, former chief minister and Goa general secretary, All India Congress Committee, urged the people to support the Congress party and praised Jayaprakash Hegde, the party candidate of Udupi-Chikmagalur.

“Udupi is known for its communal harmony and this is the special strength of this constituency as well this peaceful district. They are contributing a lot to cultural development. Our opposition party proposes Gujarat as the best model, but Karnataka is the best model. People of Karnataka are promoting unity, peace, and social harmony,” he added.

“BJP is saying that Gujarat is a developed country but it is known for social and cultural backwardness. This is the truth and they are giving false statements. Gujarat
is going backwards in education and health. Nearly 60,000 factories have been closed and there are 225 blocks in Gujarat of which 75 are without power. Nearly 50 percent of the children are suffering from malnutrition and poverty and 175 lac people are striving for potable drinking water,” said Faleiro.

“In 2001, the chunk of populace in the BPL category was 32 percent but this has increased to 39 percent. In Gujarat, farmers are crying but landlords are laughing,” he added.

“Udupi model is one of the best models and I have not seen such a model in the country. Vote for the Congress and let us preserve our own culture and unity. This party promotes the right to
education, right to information, rural health, directive principles, and women empowerment. Right now, we are not going to take on any other state as model. We will just focus on Karnataka culture and principles,” said Faleiro.

Keshav Kotian, Wilson Paul, Dolfi D'Souza, and Bhaskar Rao Kidiyoor were all present at the press meet held at Congress Bhavan.