Mounesh Vishwakarma

Daijiworld Media Network

Bantwal, Apr 30: "It is said that if the king becomes a merchant, the subjects become beggars. Similarly, today businessmen are becoming people's representatives and so they are looking at everything from the view of making profits. They are giving more priority to corruption than public service. This has made people suffer a lot. But I lived for public service. Even after serving as a MLA and a minister, I have not built big bungalows in cities," Congress candidate and former minister B Ramanatha Rai said.

He said, "I am still living in the house given to me by my elders and I am doing public service from there."

He was speaking at an election campaign meeting in Navoor village. "The leaders of their parties have alleged that there has been corruption in every issue under the BJP administration," he said.

The Congress candidate for Bantwal constituency also felt that people cannot return to a peaceful life without removing such a corrupt government.

He appealed to the voters to vote this time comparing the development work done during his tenure with that of what had been done by the BJP in the last five years.

"Most of the government buildings in Bantwala were built during my period. Roads in every nook and corner of the constituency have been developed during my tenure," he said.

However, he regretted that now the citizens were seeing a little bit of concrete put on one end of the road besides large flexes.

"This time we have to work hard to win the Rais who worked tirelessly for the development of Bantwala. If they win, the poor and the helpless will be empowered," advocate Suresh Navuru, who spoke on this occasion said while appealing to the voters that the development of Bantwala should be allowed and Ramanatha Rai's dreams should be fulfilled.

Devappa Kulal, Sitaram Kulal and Praveen Kulal joined the Congress and expressed that they were fed up with the BJP regime. Santhosh Karkera of Devasyapadur village of the BJP also defected to the Congress.

KPCC leaders Ashwani Kumar Rai, Pius L Rodriguez, Chandraprakash Shetty, Block President Baby Kunder, Padmasekhar Jain, Mayilappa Salyan, Abbas Ali, Ibrahim Kailar, Umesh Kulal, Lavina Vilma Moras, Lavina Shanti D'Souza, M Mohammad, Farooq, Yogeesh, Suvarna Kumar Jain, Trishala Suvarna Kumar Jain and others were present.