Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)
Mangaluru, Jul 16: "BJP is good in marketing. It does 25 paise worth of work and does publicity for one rupee. When our government was in power at the centre, we did lot of good work, but did not market or indulge in creating publicity," said leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. He also said that it was Congress that built the nation, and those who had benefited from the party have now been 'misled' by the BJP.
Kharge was addressing a convention of Mangaluru south block Congress party leaders workers at Town Hall here on Saturday July 16. Dr B R Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary was also commemorated on the same occasion.
"For the first time in Mangaluru, a block-level party workers' convention has been organized, through which the ideals and principles of the party are explained to the party workers. This is a good programme organized by MLA J R Lobo. If we conduct such programmes in every block, it will help in strengthening the party. So I suggest the working president of KPCC Dinesh Gundu Rao to organize such block-level conventions throughout the state.
"The people of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have strong ideologies and committment as compared to any other place. It is only because of some big leaders that they go away from the party, and this should be avoided. All the party workers should be taken along together. Senior leaders of this district have shaped many young leaders. Today we inaugurated a road named after Blasius D'Souza. He was an MLA and minister, and remembering such leaders is paying respect to their contribution. Many people get their work done and then forget, but you have remembered him. This is very important," he said.
"Today we have also commemorated Dr B R Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary. He has done great work by drafting the Constitution. Every religion has its own religious book, but the Constitution is the holy book of every citizen of this country. Though Dr Ambedkar was not in the Congress, Nehru, by giving him various ministerial portfolios, strengthened the nation and this shows Nehru's large-heartedness. This cannot happen in any other party. For 50 years after Independence, neither the RSS nor the BJP celebrate the birth anniversary of Ambedkar and now they are trying to teach us patriotism.
"Prime Minister Modi and the BJP always ask what has Congress done in 70 years and they say Congress looted the country. If we had done so, Modi would not have become the PM, and Amit Shah would not have become the BJP party chief. Today you see so many ports, bridges, and many other developmental works which have taken place in Mangaluru. All this did not happen in Modi's tenure. It was Srinivas Mallya who got so many projects sanctioned by running from department to department, and it was a long process," he said.
Attacking the Modi-led government further, he said, "We have built this nation. What has the BJP done? Modi says thousands of people gather to listen to him during his foreign visits. Were those doctors and engineers born during Modi's tenure or during Congress reign? It was our country and the Congress government which started various medical and engineering colleges and educated them. Now they have gone abroad and support Modi.
"It was UPA under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi that brought the Food Security Bill, MGNREGA, and Right to Education so that equality can be brought about in society. In Karnataka, rice is given at Rs 3 per kg and the government is bearing Rs 22 as subsidy. Even though we have done so many good works, we have lagged behind in taking the credit and doing publicity. The land reforms introduced by Indira Gandhi have benefited about 3 lac people in DK, Shivamogga and Udupi districts. It is unfortunate that people who have taken benefits from us are not standing by us, as they have been misled by RSS and BJP.
"It has been 26 months since the Modi government came to power. They promised to get back black money and generate 2 crore employment every year, but if you see reports, not even 2 lac jobs have been created. If support for such a government continues, then the poor, women and the downtrodden will suffer. BJP government at the centre has been forming anti-poor laws. They say they have achieved GDP growth of 7.5 percent, but stomach cannot be filled by GDP. Food and education is essential. When UPA was in power, per barrel of crude oil cost 120 dollars and petrol was sold at Rs 67 per litre, and currently crude oil is priced at 28 dollars per barrel, but the price of petrol remains at Rs 67. By this difference, the centre has earned a profit fof Rs 1.80 lac crore. But when there was drought situation in the state, the centre did not waive the loans of farmers despite our request. When UPA was in power, about Rs 72,000 crore of farmers' loans were waived," Kharge claimed.
Attacking Modi over his foreign visits, Kharge said, "The PM went to Pakistan to visit Nawaz Sharif uninvited. The next day firing started at the border. Does the PM want to continue such kind of foreign policy? The PM is travelling all over the world saying he is going to get investments. It is not the PM who has to travel for this purpose, but the foreign affairs minister."
"BJP is spreading hatred between people of different religions and ministers of the ruling party are making provocative statements. This needs to be set right," he added.
He also urged the ministers present in the programme to get the anti-superstition bill passed. "I do not say you should hurt anyone's religious sentiments, but take up matters like honour killing, untouchability and other such issues which are opposed by all."
KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said, "Congress government has done good job in the state but we have failed to do publicity. We have a new legislation under which 27 percent of the total budget will be spent for the betterment of SC/ST and other backward communities. This comes up to about Rs or Rs 36,000 crore. We have introduced pro-poor schemes like Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya and so on, and in milk production, we are second in the country."
Defending K J George and the Congress government with regard to the suicide of DySP M K Ganapati, he said, "Our government has not indulged in any corruption or scam. It is only because of some baseless allegations that BJP is stalling the session. Let their leaders or any other person give at least one proof against George. I will personally ask the chief minister to drop Geoge from the cabinet.
"It was during George's tenure that Ganapati was given posting in Bengaluru. Due to some case he was suspended and reinstated within a month. Later he was promoted, and as per his request he was transferred to Mangaluru. George has nothing to do with his suicide case. BJP is not talking about DySP Kallappa's suicide because one of the close aides of a BJP MLA who is also a Bajrang Dal leader is involved in the case. There are about 20 union ministers who have criminal cases like attempt to murder and rape attempt. Let them resign first," he added.
Energy minister D K Shivakumar said, "Congress power is nation's power. Congress history is nation's history, and if Congress comes back to power, it is like all communities coming to power. Whenever Congress has won in the coastal districts, we have also come to power in the state. Hence I request the people of the coastal region to support us. I know J R Lobo from a long time and I can say he's one of the five best MLAs in the state. He has been active among the people and working for their welfare.
"We will come to power again in the 2018 elections. I urge all the party workers to strive towards this end. Our government has been working without indulging in corruption or scam, and we will definitely win the next elections too," he added.
Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes was honoured on the occasion. District in-charge minister Ramanath Rai presided over the programme. MLA J R Lobo welcomed the gathering.
Minister U T Khader, MLC Ivan D'Souza, MLA Mohiuddin Bava, MLA Abhaychandra Jain, former MLC Saleem Ahmed, in-charge secretary of AICC Dr Shantaram Naik and others were present.