2 Cong CMs, 1 deputy CM counter BJP's charge on poll promises

The chief ministers of Congress-ruled Telangana and Himachal Pradesh and the deputy CM of Karnataka on Saturday vehemently countered the BJP's allegation that the grand old party was not fulfilling the promises it made before the polls in these states.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar addressed a press conference in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra where assembly elections will be held on November 20.

Incidentally, speaking at Akola in Maharashtra soon later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Congress saying wherever the party forms a government, that state becomes an ATM of the party's 'shahi parivar' (royal family), and named Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka as examples of this.

These Congress leaders listed out the implementation of their party's guarantees in their respective states.

When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hain to safe hain' message, Sukhu said the country's culture binds it together. Whoever speaks like this cannot keep the nation together.

"Our culture is to keep the nation united," he said.

Shivakumar said, "Mahayuti leaders should visit my state to see how Congress' welfare guarantees are benefiting people."

Whenever the Congress comes to power, it implements one or the other scheme for each section of the society.

"None of the schemes (which have been in operation) since the days of (former PM) Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, have been withdrawn. We are not looking at votes but development of the state," Shivakumar said.

Reddy accused the prime minister of lying about the scheme pertaining to his state.

"We are systematically implementing the guarantees," he said.

He said his government waived the farm loans after coming to power.

"Farm loans of 22,22,067 farmers were waived, which cost the government Rs 17,869 crore," he added.

In 10 months, his government provided 50,000 government jobs to the youth, while 50 lakh families have benefited from the 200 units free electricity scheme, Reddy said.

The BJP does not have any success story to boast of in Maharashtra, he said.

He alleged that big ticket investment projects were being transferred from Maharashtra to Gujarat, and urged people to defeat the BJP.

Sukhu said his government's decision to implement the old pension scheme has benefited people immensely.

Earlier any person who was getting Rs 5,000 per month under the New Pension Scheme is getting Rs 50,000 under the Old Pension Scheme, he said.

"People of Maharashtra have to decide whether toppling the government with the use of money is democracy," he said, apparently referring to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation in June 2022.

Sukhu added that his government successfully countered 'Operation Lotus' of the BJP.

Earlier this week, the INDIA bloc announced poll sops which included farm waiver, doubling the Rs 1,500 monthly amount under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 3,000.

When asked how the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will ensure fiscal discipline since it claimed that the sops will lead to burdening the exchequer, Reddy said his party is well aware about how to use people's money for their welfare.

"We have run the government for 70 years. We have vast experience in this. We know where to plug in excess expenditure," he said.