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Journalism of Courage
With just a few days left for the Karnataka assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday attacked former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah.
Addressing a mega rally in Badami under Bagalkot district, PM Modi said: “I have heard that Siddaramaiah has been claiming that he developed Badami. But I want to tell you that if any development took place, it was because of the double-engine government… Siddaramaiah abandoned the constituency and dumped you (the public of Badami) and fled to another constituency. Because he understood the mood of the people here. If he comes here, ask him why so many people were deprived of basic facilities before the double-engine government provided the facilities.”
In the 2018 polls, Siddaramaiah contested from Chamundeshwari (in Mysuru district) and Badami assembly constituencies. Although he lost in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) leader GT Devegowda, he managed to win in Badami by defeating BJP candidate Sriramulu by 1,696 votes. On Saturday, Modi campaigned for seven BJP candidates from Bagalkot and two candidates from Gadag district.
Citing former prime minister and Congress leader Late Rajiv Gandhi’s remark that only 15 paise of every rupee allocated by the government reached the intended beneficiary, PM Modi said: “Woh kaunsa panja tha jo 85 paise ghis leta tha (which palm used to take away 85 paise). This is what the Congress’s job is. This is why the country did not witness development for all these years. In the last nine years, the BJP government has given Rs 29 lakh crore to the poor and the medium classes. If we go by Rajiv Gandhi’s words, the Congress would have siphoned off Rs 24 lakh crore.”
“Before 2014, the price of internet data was around Rs 300 per GB. Today, it has come down to around Rs 10 per GB. The BJP has ensured robust connectivity and great infrastructure in the country,” the prime minister added.
In his speech at Haveri, the home district of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, PM Modi said: “Haveri has got a new medical college, Haveri University, milk plant, road, and railway connectivity infrastructure because of the double-engine government.”
