“There is a menace of thieves in democracy. Therefore, the current Assembly elections is very important from the point of protecting democracy in the state and in India”, said, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.
He was speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on Tuesday.
Kharge said, “We are requesting the people to give us 150 seats in the assembly so that we can form a stable government. Or else, BJP will purchase MLAs or topple the government to form their own government. This has happened in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand. They will even take the tainted MLAs into their party, after cleaning them in thier 'washing machine'”, he said.
Stating that the issues in Karnataka and the failure of administration by the BJP led state government will be the highlights during this election, Mallikarjun Kharge said that there is an opinion not only in Karnataka but in other states as well, that no work is getting done without bribes. He further said that the state, during the tenure of Congress, was known for infrastructure development and indutrial progress. But today, no work is getting done without 40 per cent commission.
He also said that there is no need to give any other evidence for the accusation. The contractors' association and grant in-aid schools and colleges have written to the PM, the President of India, to the Governor and Lokayukta.
The Congress president further added that Modi's slogan 'Naa Khavoonga; Naa khaane doonga' is not applible in Karnataka. In contrast, he alleged, the PM is encouraging bribes. He said that autonomous bodies like the ED, I-T, and CBI are being used as weapons against those who protest, but when it comes to 40-per-cent commission, no probe is done. Even though people inside and outside are protesting against the same, Modi is silent, Kharge said. He wanted to know why the PM is not speaking about the Lokayukta raids against his own party leaders.
Kharge said that there are 25 lakh unemployment youth in the state, and out of 7.70 lakh government jobs, 2.60 lakh posts are lying vacant. The government is not filling the existing vavancies as if they are filled, 50 per cent of them will go to SC, ST and backward communities and they cannot recruit the persons they want, the veteran politician said.
Kharge also pointed out that when Modi asks Congress what the party has done for 70 years, he probabely forgets about the tenures of Atal Behari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, H D Devegowda, V P Singh and I K Gujral. At least the PM should get the right feedback before issuing the statement, he added.