Nirmala boasts of Modi’s K’taka visits; only for polls, says oppn

Cong freebies will cost us a fortune: FM

By Hamsaveni N

Wonders of World

KPCC vice-president V.S. Ugrappa disagreed with the minister’s claim, saying that in the past eight years, in spite of demands from various sections, the PM failed to visit Karnataka during the floods and droughts.

Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday highlighted the achievements of the BJP in Karnataka and the Centre.

“Since 2015, PM Narendra Modi visited Karnataka 32 times, attending programmes and interacting with people in the state. In 2023, he visited the state seven times,” she said at a press conference in Bengaluru’s BJP office on the 43rd BJP’s Foundation Day.

The opposition Congress and JD(S) countered this by saying Modi does not care for Karnataka when it faces cries; he comes only to seek votes.

She spoke about the Emergency and said people must remember the “horrible attack” by the congress on Indian democracy. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and other opposition leaders were sent to jail and amendments were made unconstitutionally. “Today the Congress is screaming that under BJP all institutions are undermined. The emotional bond that we have with Karnataka goes a long way back.”

Karnataka is being given attention not only during elections. “Two national executive meetings have happened in Karnataka, in 2015 and 2018. Resolutions were passed at the BJP’s national executive meetings 18 times, relating only to Karnataka and the well-being of the state. Meetings of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors were held in Bengaluru. Startups were given an opportunity to display to the foreign delegates their contributions to the Indian economy, she said.

“The Centre invested a lot of in Karnataka to improve the Railways, roadways, airways, digital infrastructure anddefence. Projects like the Bengaluru-Mysuru express highway, made with an expenditure of Rs 8,480 crore, and the Mysuru-Kushalnagar highway made with an expenditure of Rs 4,130 crore, are a few examples of the major projects implemented in Karnataka.”

She also mentioned the development of Shivamogga airport and the Mangalore port.The government has kept inflation under 6 per cent.

She criticised the “freebies” promised by Congress to Karnataka, saying these are beyond her imagination. “At least onethird of the budget is needed for a government to fulfill thepromises. I would ask people of Karnataka to not fall for promises which cannot be fulfilled.”

“When there were floods in Karnataka during 2009, then PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi conducted an aerial survey.In Raichur, relief funds of Rs1,500 crore were announced. What funds has Modi announced? How many times has Nirmala Sitharaman, an MP from Karnataka, visited Karnataka?” Ugrappa asked.

Prathap Kangal JD(S)spokesperson informed The Observer: “We don’t see him as a Prime Minister but as a promotional minister. He never visited the state during floods, never responded to giving GST (dues) to Karnataka. We went to court when we didn’t had enough oxygen in the hospitals during Covid. Now during elections, he will come. He just knows how to campaign. There is no other intention behind his coming to Karnataka. The development BJP is bragging about, people of Karnataka know. We are seeing how BJP… is bringing in actors also to influence voters and vote bank....”

The Observer tried to contact an AAP spokesperson, but he was unavailable. hamsaveni.n@iijnm.org