The Hindu

Udupi May 3: Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes said on Friday that it was only the Congress party which could ensure development of the State by providing a stable Government.

He was speaking at the party workers’ meeting here.

Mr. Fernandes said that a Congress Government was essential to take the State to the top position in the country. The manifesto of the party for Assembly polls focussed on uplift of weaker sections.

The schemes, such as providing rice at Rs. two a kilo gram, were aimed at the poor people, he added.

Yeddyurappa’s notion of development is strange: Poojary

Udupi: Rajya Sabha Member and Congress leader B. Janardhan Poojary said on Friday that there was nothing wrong with various parties joining hands to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader B.S. Yeddyurappa in Shikaripura Assembly constituency, especially since he wanted to emulate the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Poojary wondered, "Why should Mr. Yeddyurappa emulate someone, unless he lacks originality? Even if he wants to emulate someone, can he not find a better person than Mr. Modi? Everyone knows about that carnage that took place in Gujarat under Mr. Modi. I would have been happy if Mr. Yaddyurappa had chosen the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as his role model. These factors have made it necessary to defeat Mr. Yeddyurappa. We do not want a Modi in Karnataka."

Model State

Mr. Poojary said that Mr. Yeddyurappa had strange notions about development. The whole country and the world were praising Karnataka for its development in various sectors. Karnataka was regarded as a model for development by various States in the country. "People of Gujarat also want to have a Karnataka model, but Mr. Yeddyurappa wants to have a Gujarat model here," he said.

Confidence

He said that the Congress would get a majority in the Assembly elections. If the Congress workers worked collectively, the party would get a comfortable majority. The people would never trust the BJP because of the false assurances it gave during the "Ram Janmabhumi Movement. Where are the bricks and money collected to build the temple at Ayodhya?", he asked.

Commitment

He said that the Congress party was committed to implementing all the promises made in its manifesto. The All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi will monitor the implementation of the programmes announced in the manifesto," Mr. Poojary said.