Siddaramaiah on PM Modi's remarks

Siddaramaiah campaigned for the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Solapur.

Solāpur:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his allegations that the Congress government “looted” the people of the state and used the money for election campaigning in Maharashtra.

Addressing a press conference in Maharashtra's Solapur on Saturday, CM Siddaramaiah challenged the Prime Minister to prove his allegations and promised to retire from politics if they were right.

CM Siddaramaiah campaigned for the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Solapur on Saturday in the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled for November 20.

Siddaramaiah called the comments “blatant lies” and challenged the Prime Minister to take up the challenge.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes, tells blatant lies and leaves. If he can prove his allegations, I will announce my retirement from politics. Why is Modi not accepting my challenge? What Is he afraid?” » asked CM Siddaramaiah.

“PM Modi claims that social guarantees will ruin the economy, but the BJP announced similar guarantees during elections in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Why is the Prime Minister resorting to such blatant lies? The Modi government, however, has shown where its priorities lie “It has waived Rs 16 crore worth of loans for the rich, without even waiving a rupee for farmers,” he added.

“Let Maharashtra BJP leaders and ministers go to Karnataka to check the facts. If they can prove me wrong, I will retire from politics. But if I am right, will they apologize to the people of Maharashtra and announce their retirement from politics? We have decided to file a complaint against the Maharashtra BJP for publishing blatantly false advertisements against our government Although Karnataka contributes 4.5 million every year. rupees to central taxes, he gets only Rs.60,000 crore in return,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the Karnataka government had successfully implemented the five safeguards and highlighted the Shakti program of the state government, which benefited women.

“Another Gruha Jyothi provided free electricity up to 200 units per month to 1.62 crore families and under the Anna Bhagya scheme, 5 kg of free rice along with Rs 170 per person for 5 kg additional rice given to 1.2 crore families,” he said. said.

“All the guarantees were launched in eight months. Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, 1.22 crore women heads of households are receiving Rs 2,000 per month, which means around Rs 30,000 crore is directly transferred to women's bank accounts every year Another scheme, Yuva Nidhi, provides financial services to unemployed graduates and graduates,” he added.

CM Siddaramaiah also urged the people of Maharashtra to vote for Maha Vikas Aghadi.

“In contrast, during my first term as chief minister, I waived Rs 8,165 crore worth of loans for farmers in Karnataka. Under the leadership of Manmohan Singh, Rs 76,000 crore worth of loans were waived canceled for farmers across India I urge the people of Maharashtra to vote for the Maha Vikas Aghadi to ensure the development and economic progress of the state. By doing so, you will contribute to a fairer and more inclusive future. for all.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that Karnataka and Maharashtra were “victims of the Modi government's unfair treatment”, saying his state received only 13 paise and Maharashtra received 15 paise for every rupee paid in taxes .

“Similarly, Maharashtra contributes Rs 8.78 lakh crore but gets back only Rs 1.3 lakh crore. This means that Karnataka gets 13 paise and Maharashtra 15 paise for every rupee paid in taxes. This unfair treatment of the part of the Modi government is an injustice to both Karnataka and Maharashtra. Karnataka's safeguards have affected people of all castes, religions and communities, proving that these initiatives empower citizens without harming the state's finances. Maharashtra is socially and economically strong, and if Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power, there is no doubt that all safeguards will be implemented effectively,” he said.

Addressing a rally in Maharashtra earlier this month, PM Modi claimed that the Congress was “looting people” in Karnataka and the money would be used for campaigning in Maharashtra.

“In Karnataka, the Congress lied and urged people to vote for them. They formed the government and could not fulfill their promises. Instead, they are running an extortion campaign in Karnataka. In Karnataka , scams are discovered every other day. This means that “Congress is looting people in broad daylight. Apparently, the Congress is using the same money to fight elections in Maharashtra. If we want to save Maharashtra, we have to keep it at bay,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)