At homecoming, Mallikarjun Kharge’s unity pitch and warning for Karnataka Congress

It is always a pleasure to get back home. My first visit to my hometown after taking on the responsibility as @INCIndia President was an emotional affair.

Thank you for the unbound love and support.

Forever indebted to each one of you. 🙏#KalyanaKranthiSamavesha pic.twitter.com/ZdGBXI5Z9Q

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 10, 2022

“They (the BJP) have not done anything for this (Kalyana Karnataka) region. Yet, some people chant (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s name. I request all Congress leaders to reach out to voters like how the BJP does …. our leaders should do so in a united manner. If we are not united, it will be akin to cheating the people who have elected us,” Kharge said at a Kalyana Kranti Samavesha in Kalaburagi. Before that, a roadshow was held in the city.

For the past several months, Karnataka Congress has been weighed down by an internal tussle between state unit chief DK Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, over who will get the top job if the party returns to power in next year’s Assembly elections. Kharge spelt out that decision to appoint the CM and other ministers rested with the high command. “If we fight among ourselves, our opportunity (to return to power) will be wasted.”

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) president ensured that all prominent warring factions in the state unit and disgruntled leaders, including former Union Minister KH Muniyappa, participated in the roadshow. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were present at the event.

The AICC president’s remarks indicated that the Congress was likely to make unemployment a key election plank. Kharge fired a salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for distributing appointment orders after filling 71,000 vacancies ahead of polls in Gujarat, saying that such orders “are distributed by undersecretaries, but Modi distributed it for publicity”.

More than 30 lakh posts are vacant across the country in various sectors such as the armed forces, public sector units, aided institutions, and banks. Kharge assured that the Congress would fill these vacancies if voted to power. At the state government level, 50,000 posts are vacant in the seven Kalyana Karnataka districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Ballari, Koppal, Ballari, and Vijayanagar.

“Why was the state government not filling it?” he asked, noting the various demonstrations by groups seeking employment when Congress was in power.

He also announced the 10-point programme for the development of Kalyana Karnataka, including Rs 5,000 crore for development projects, an industrial policy for the region, one lakh posts for the youth, a recommendation to set up institutes such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the region, and houses for all families.