Congress has led Karnataka to bankruptcy, alleges Tejasvi Surya in Mumbai

Under the Congress regime, Karnataka is facing extreme financial crisis; the government has been struggling to manage the State’s economy due to its mismanagement of funds, says the BJP MP

The Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Bangalore, Tejasvi Surya, said on Wednesday (November 13, 2024) that the Congress party has only pushed Karnataka towards bankruptcy and “brought financial instability to the State”.

Speaking at a press conference held at the party office in Mumbai’s Dadar region as part of the Assembly election campaign in Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) chief alleged that Karnataka has drowned in “financial crisis” during Congress rule. “Karnataka stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Congress has created so much economic chaos with their inability to handle public funds that within just two years, this government has turned the ₹20,000-crore revenue surplus budget that was presented by the former BJP administration into a revenue deficit of ₹12,000 crore. This [Congress] government does not have funds for development projects. They have only made false poll promises, and this crisis is the result of that.” 

Accusing the party of restoring to Muslim appeasement, he further said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was pushing for a 4% quota for Muslims in government contracts. “Over 20 MLAs from Karnataka have written asking for such demands. When our Constitution does not permit reservations based on religion, where is this Congress party leading the Indian society to?” he asked.

Watch | Waqf row in Karnataka: Ground report from Vijayapura

Warning Maharashtra voters, Mr. Surya said, “The people of Maharashtra must pay attention to the way Congress has handled Karnataka. If they do not, a similar situation will arise in Maharashtra as well. In Karnataka, Congress had promised to provide a monthly stipend of ₹2,000 to every woman, but not a single woman received such a stipend. They have failed to fulfil all promises. In fact, there have been protests in our State as people are frustrated with their false poll promises.”

He further claimed, “In Bijapur district of Karnataka, hundreds of acres of farmlands were claimed by the Waqf Board. Without any advance notice, in nearly 15 districts of Karnataka, the Minority Minister, on the directives of the Chief Minister, held Waqf Adalat and transferred the land to Waqf Board. When farmers came out in protest, the Congress government was forced to retract its contentious decision.”

He claimed Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had recently admitted to the financial crisis the State was grappling with. “He publicly accepted twice that their government was struggling to manage infrastructure investments. Due to budget constraints, the ruling Congress party in Karnataka had failed to even repair the potholes on the roads of Bengaluru. Even Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has acknowledged the concern,” claimed Mr. Surya.

Comparing the Congress party with “tobacco”, the BJP MP said, “Just like the statutory warning on cigarette packets that says ‘tobacco causes painful death’ or ‘tobacco is injurious to health’, voting for the Congress party is harmful to the social and economic growth of Maharashtra.”

Published - November 13, 2024 10:59 pm IST