DK Shivakumar.
Credit: DH Photo
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ‘copying’ Karnataka’s guarantee schemes as he was promising similar schemes while campaigning for Assembly elections in five states.
Shivakumar appealed to party workers to spread the message that if the BJP comes to power, it will discontinue the guarantees being implemented in Karnataka.
Addressing party workers at the KPCC office during the 106th birth anniversary celebrations of former prime minister Indira Gandhi here, Shivakumar said, “Already JD(S) and BJP have been opposing guarantees that are helping scores of people in the state. In the event of these parties coming to power, they will surely stop all our guarantees. Party workers must ensure that this message percolates down to all villages in the state.”
He said that the five guarantees launched by the Congress had ensured that each beneficiary family gets around Rs 5,000 per month and this had become unpalatable to both the Opposition parties.
“They had started opposing the guarantee schemes even before they were launched,” the KPCC president said.
The DCM said the Congress had decided to form a committee to conduct a survey on the guarantee scheme and that the survey would be launched on November 28, the party’s foundation day.
“The BJP in Karnataka is in a precarious situation. On the one hand, it is criticising Congress’ guarantees day and night. On the other, it will have to justify BJP’s promise of
guarantees in five states where elections are underway,” he said.
Describing Indira Gandhi’s tenure as prime minister as a golden period, Shivakumar said the Congress under Indira was the first to launch guarantees to uplift the poor in the country.
“The nationalization of banks, loans through banks and many other welfare schemes that were launched during her period are still relevant. Until the nationalization of banks, many poor people were being fleeced by local financiers,” he said.
Shivakumar, also the KPCC president, said the party was planning to replace presidents of 10 district party units.