Haveri, Apr 2 (IANS): Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Gadag Lok Sabha constituency BJP candidate Basavaraj Bommai urged the Congress to declare Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

Addressing an election campaign at Chikkerur village in Hirekerur Assembly constituency on Tuesday, he asked why Congress is not ready to declare Rahul Gandhi as their PM candidate.

“Is it because the Congress ratings would fall if you mention Rahul's name? The INDI Bloc CMs wanted AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge to become the Prime Minister but Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Rahul must make up his mind to become the PM and not Kharge,” he said.

He said that there is opposition within the Congress for Kharge to become the PM.

He said that the administration has collapsed completely in Karnataka in the last ten months and a number of schemes had been stopped.

The Gruha Laxmi scheme implemented by the Congress government benefitted only 30 per cent of women. The women beneficiaries of the Yashaswini scheme must vote against the Congress in the coming parliamentary election. Rupees 2,000 was also not deposited in scores of women’s accounts. They must teach Congress a lesson by voting against it, Bommai said.

The Congress has done injustice to the minorities by not chalking out any schemes. The Haj Bhavan in Bengaluru was built by former CM B.S. Yediyurappa during the BJP government rule and not by the Congress. The minorities must be brought to the mainstream of the society, he maintained.