Invoking Basavanna, Rahul Gandhi promises ‘clean‘ Congress government in Karnataka

The Congress leader focused on corruption and communalism to target the BJP, which is likely to be the party’s poll plank for 2023

Former AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday invoked 12th century social reformer Basavanna to launch an attack on the BJP while promising that the next Congress government in Karnataka will be “clean and honest”.

Rahul’s invocation of Basavanna is no coincidence as he was addressing a massive crowd in Davangere, where Lingayats form the majority of the population.

“Ours will be a clean and honest government, one that’ll connect to the US to transform Karnataka, a government that’ll support the weak but be there for everybody, a government that won’t spread hatred in this wonderful state, a government that’ll follow Basavanna’s principles,” Rahul said at Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah’s 75th birthday celebration.

The Congress leader focused on corruption and communalism to target the BJP, which is likely to be the party’s poll plank for the 2023 Assembly election.

Read | Congress united to defeat BJP in K'taka: Rahul Gandhi

“While Congress brings people together and create harmony, the BJP is dividing people. The whole of Karnataka can see the level of corruption BJP government has created,” Rahul said. “They (BJP) bow their head in front of Basavanna and steal from the people of Karnataka. Where did Basavanna say you can steal? Basavanna said you need to speak truth. That’s the opposite of what the BJP government does,” he said.

Listing out various welfare (Bhagya) schemes of the Siddaramaiah government and those rolled out by the UPA, Rahul said the BJP’s flagship scheme was demonetisation.

“Demonetisation was a transfer of money from the poorest to 5-10 richest people close to the PM. After that, they imposed a flawed GST that was also designed the destroy the poor, farmers, labourers etc,” he said, calling the two schemes “national disasters”.

Rahul said the farm laws were meant to “steal” money from farmers. “While Congress distributes wealth, BJP-RSS takes it away and give it to the richest people of the land,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the BJP government is “the most corrupt and communal that I’ve seen” in his 44 years of political life. “All of you must resolve today to throw this BJP government,” he said, expressing confidence that Congress will win 2023 in Karnataka and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Slamming the BJP government over the ‘40% commission’ charge, Siddaramaiah asked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to “resign and go home”.

“I gave so many schemes. What have you done, Bommai?” he said.