Bengaluru, May 7 (IANS) Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for handing Karnataka Assembly tickets to the tainted Reddy brothers, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his party is committed to serving the poll-bound state's poor and downtrodden.
"Karnataka's strength lies in its poor farmers, labourers, youth and women. The Congress is committed to serving and empowering all communities to take the state ahead," Gandhi said addressing a party meeting, ahead of the state assembly polls on May 12, in Hosakote in Bengaluru Rural district.
Modi often spoke against corruption, but did not walk his talk by giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tickets to the Reddy brothers, Gandhi said.
"The state should work for the benefit of the poor and not allow looters to operate," said Gandhi, attacking the BJP and the Reddy brothers.
The opposition BJP has chosen G. Karunakara Reddy and G. Somashekar Reddy, elder and younger brothers of the mining scam-tainted G. Janardhana Reddy, to contest from Harpanahalli and Ballari seats in the mines-rich Ballari district in the state's northwest region.
Janardhana Reddy was arrested and jailed for about two years after the state's anti-graft watchdog (Lokayukta) named him in a multi-crore iron ore mining scam in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh during 2001-10.
He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2015 and asked to keep away from Ballari.
The party has also fielded Lallesh Reddy, nephew of the Reddy brothers, from the BTM Layout segment in Bengaluru southwest suburb, against state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy of the ruling Congress.
"Modi says he wants to fight corruption while sharing the stage with (BJP's chief ministerial face) B.S. Yeddyurappa, who went to jail on corruption charges," the Congress chief asserted.
Yeddyurappa was the BJP's first Chief Minister in Karnataka from 2008-2011, who was forced to step down from his post following indictment by the state ombudsman (Lokayukta) in the multi-crore mining scam.
"Modi must explain to the people of the state why Yeddyurappa was chosen as the Chief Ministerial face," added Gandhi.
The 47-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family said the Congress-led government in Karnataka had kept its promises to ensure a hunger-free Karnataka and listed several welfare schemes introduced by the state government.
"We have set up Indira Canteens in every part of the state to eliminate hunger in the state and make sure that nobody in Karnataka has to remain hungry," said Gandhi.
In addition to waiving off farm loans worth over Rs 8,000 crore in the state, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah government had introduced several schemes like providing 7kg rice per month to the poor for free, free meals for poor pregnant women, etc,. which had benefitted the state, added Gandhi.
"What was Modi's contribution to farmer loan waivers in the state?" he said.
If elected to power, the Congress would keep its promise made in the manifesto of ensuring that every citizen of Karnataka had a home, the Congress leader stated.
In its manifesto released on April 27, the Congress promised to create one crore jobs to youth in the southern state, along with building 50 lakh houses in the rural areas.
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