Rahul: Karnataka elections between society unifiers vs society breakers

“We will never let the BJP-RSS tear apart the pluralistic fabric of our country,” said Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his election meetings in Bengaluru on May 9.

Calling it a fight between ideologies—society breakers versus unifiers—Rahul challenged the Modi government and the RSS to touch the constitution if they have guts. “Dum hai to Constitution ko chhu ke dikhao, phir hum bataenge hum kya kar sakte hain”, the Congress president said, throwing an open challenge. Condemning BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde’s infamous ‘will change the constitution’ statement, the Congress president dared the Prime Minister and the RSS to even ‘touch the constitution’.

Rahul says Congress will make Bengaluru world’s Silicon Valley number 1

The Congress president also praised Bengaluru as the “start-up capital” of the country. “While PM Modi keeps talking about start-ups, in all cities the start-ups have stopped while Bengaluru has become the start-up capital of the country,” Gandhi said. “₹3 lakh crore have earned by IT exports in Bengaluru alone,” he added.

Saying that the current progress will make Bengaluru “the number one Silicon Valley of the world, replacing Silicon Valley in the US to number two, Gandhi said, “yet, the BJP-led NDA government in the centre deprived Bangalore of money that the city deserved.” The NDA government, he said, just allotted just ₹550 crore, while on the other hand the Congress government spent ₹1,000 crore on Bangalore.

When BHEL, HMT and IITs were established in Bangalore, Gandhi said, it was being said that the government is wasting time in doing so. But the President of the United States praised Bangalore as the IT hub of the country, he said.

Also attacking the Modi government on their slogan ‘Beti padhao, Beti bachao’, the Congress president said that the slogan has changed to ‘Beti BJP netao se bachao’. “While the Congress party has made education free from KG to undergraduate for Karnataka girls, they privatise all the colleges in the states they rule.” “You will have to pay ₹15 lakhs to big businessmen as bribe if you wish for your girl to get education,” he added.

“Congress party will win the elections in Karnataka and after the victory, I assure, we will try our best to take the ‘garden city ahead of the Silicon Valley’, Gandhi concluded. “From infrastructure to roads, hospitals, the Congress party will transform Bangalore in every aspect,” he assured.

Rahul mocks Modi, Shah on BJP’s ‘anti-corruption’ plank

Rahul also took a sly dig at PM Modi on his pledge of making Karnataka corruption free. “PM says that he is against corruption, and on the same stage stand Reddy brothers and Yeddyurappa,” Rahul said, adding “The Congress Chief Minister is the Chief Minister of the poor, while the BJP Chief Minister candidate is the Chief Minister of the corrupt.” Taking them out from jail, the BJP is plotting a script to make them sit in the Parliament, Rahul said talking about the Reddy brothers. What is their criteria of selecting Yeddyurappa as the candidate, he asked.

A murder accused Amit Shah, Rahul said, by mistake spoke the truth and admitted that Yeddyurappa government was the most corrupt government in the country.