Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Mar 5: Former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily, a member of the Central Election Committee of AICC, has informed that the Congress party will release its first list of candidates for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly polls by the end of this month.
Responding to media queries, Moily said that the party would prioritize winning young candidates. The political atmosphere in the state is in favor of Congress, as people want to overthrow the BJP government from power. AICC and KPCC have already conducted surveys on suitable winning candidates, and the survey report is in favor of Congress. Two more surveys by other institutions will be conducted to determine the real ground report. The KPCC survey has already finalized the names of the candidates. The final report of the survey will be finalized in the KPCC screening committee and tabled before the Central Election Committee of AICC. The accurate final list of candidates will be released by the end of this month.
Slamming the BJP government in the center and state, Moily said that the right-wing government is against the poor and the general public. The UPA government came to power in 2004 and 2009, and Congress is still holding protests in favor of the common man.
Moily emphasized that the press is the fourth pillar of democracy, but the BJP government is suppressing freedom of speech and the right to freedom. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah have visited the state several times but are never ready to face the media and their queries. This government has tried to ban BBC. The Congress government will introduce a clause to protect the freedom of the press, as they believe the media is being hijacked.
He also alleged that ministers and MLAs are involved in a 40% commission, unlike in the past when MLAs in Dakshina Kannada were never involved in any corruption. The BJP MLAs have been looting the people. The BJP government has funds for everything except funds to construct memorials for Govinda Pai and Shivaramkarath. Karnataka has not received special grants from the union government for the past eight years, he added.
Moily stressed that once Congress comes to power, all corruption by BJP will be probed. He also alleged that the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS are responsible for the partition of the country.
Congress leaders Abhaychandra Jain, Ivan D'Souza, Naveen D'Souza, Shashidar Hegde, Vishwas Kumar Das, Prakash Salian, Vivek Raj, and others were present.