Bengaluru, Apr 29 (IANS):  Hitting out at the Congress and its leaders for criticising the BJP in Karnataka over the reservation issue, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the people will teach a lesson to the grand old party in the May 10 Assembly elections.

"The Congress leaders say those who avail of the reservation facilities are beggars. Are the SC, ST, OBC, and Lingayats beggars? The people will teach a lesson to the Congress," Bommai said at a rally.

Speaking at a roadshow while campaigning for BJP candidate M.S. Somalingappa in Siraguppa on Saturday, Bommai said Somalingappa has developed the constituency, adding he also wished to develop his constituency on the lines of Siraguppa.

"Among the development works included a college and Kanaka Bhavana. All this happened due to the BJP government. As many as 54 lakh farmers have benefited from the Kisan Sanman scheme, thanks to the double-engine government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Around 1.5 crore people have got the Ayushman card, 13 lakh houses have been constructed and 40 lakh houses have got drinking water connections," Bommai said.

"After I became the Chief Minister, the 'Vidyanidhi' scheme was implemented to help the children of farmers, fishermen, and agricultural laborers. For youth and women, the government implemented Swami Vivekananda Yuva Shakti and Stree Samarthya schemes, respectively. In the name of social justice, the Congress party would keep the Dalits in the wells, get them voted for the Congress in the election, and again keep them in the same place.

"I took a bold step to hike the quota for SC/ST thanks to the inspiration from Buddha, Basavanna, Valmiki, Kanakadasa, and our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Let the Congress stop us if they have the guts," he added.