Karnataka: False promises fall flat

The ruling Indian National Congress (INC) looks like having failed in implementing lofty poll promises and guarantees made at the time of the Karnataka Assembly elections 2023. Perhaps, in its hurry to come to power through hook or crook, the party managers never ever thought of the later consequences in the event of assuming the driver’s seat.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself admitted on the floor of the House that all promises are not meant to be implemented. He admitted that all tall talks before any polls are only meant for public consumption and not for implementation.

A look at Five Guarantees

• 200 units of free power supply
• Rs 2,000 every month to the woman head of the family
• 10 kg of free rice to all members of a BPL family
• Rs 3,000 a month for unemployed Degree holders and Rs 1,500 a month for Diploma holders for two years
• Free bus rides for women in State Government undertaking buses

The Congress party had committed to increasing reservations for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, for Scheduled Tribes from three per cent to seven per cent, restoring minority reservations to four per cent and increasing reservations for Lingayats, Vokkaligas and other communities and pursuing inclusion in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

Saving Perpetrators of Riots

Although the Siddaramaiah-led new dispensation took its own sweet time in implementing the much tom tomed five guarantees, it wasted no time in revoking cases including the criminal ones across people of the State. Surprisingly and shockingly, many cases of communal riots were also withdrawn giving a hint of the possible administration later. Among these included the ones about the communal clashes following the torching and burning down of Pulikeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Sreenivasmurthy’s residence.

Ever since the Congress party assumed power in the State, there has been a systematic strategy to hoodwink the law of the land and benefit the trouble mongers to appease a section of society for electoral gains

Reopening of Age-Old Cases

The Congress Government also stooped too low to the extent of reopening a few cases filed against the Kar Sevaks in connection with the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement of 1992. Srikanth Pujari, then a youth and now a quinquagenarian, was embarrassed by being arrested. He was granted bail later by the local civil court. But what appears paradoxical is the claim of Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar that it was a routine matter per the instructions of the courts. Similar initiatives were also evinced elsewhere in the State.

Free Mass Feeding Stalled

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses started witnessing overpacked trips as women folks felt like making use of the free ride facilities. Due to the change in the situation, the hitherto by and large empty buses during the day turned up to become overpacked. Men, who had to cough up for the travel, were at the receiving end for not getting seats and were forced to struggle to even stand properly. Most of the pilgrimage centres, which were known for feeding the devotees free, had to stop doing so after a certain point in the day. This measure became inevitable as the huge rush of pilgrims and more so women never looked like stopping day and night. Men commuters continue to curse the Congress Government and have started regretting having chosen the party to rule.

Thanks to the Congress party coming to power, social networking sites have transformed into a powerful weapon to unleash canards spitting poison against the majority of Hindus for all flimsy reasons. Ms Madhu, a Government school teacher in Belagavi, confessed, “These days it has become even more difficult to converse gently with the pedlars’ of the minority community selling vegetables and fruits.”

Farming Economy Goes For a Toss

Once the five guarantees started seeing the light of day, slowly the farming economy started to crumble like never before. It became difficult to find workers for the tasks needing urgent attention in the fields as there were no takers for them. Small and medium farmers are undergoing a horrible time sowing, maintaining and reaping the crops as the daily wages have started to shoot up.

SG Govindappa, a hard working farmer of Shravandanahally in Madhugiri Taluk of Tumakuru district, exclaimed, “If freebies like these keep continuing no sooner there will be a day wherein forget growing food grains, an ordinary farmer will have to bid adieu to even regular farming.”

DCM Seeks Withdrawal of Riot Cases

Ever since the Congress party assumed power in the State, there has been a systematic strategy to hoodwink the law of the land and benefit the trouble mongers to appease a section of society for electoral gains. Mysuru Congress MLA Tanveer Sait wrote to the Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara for a relook at the arrests made after the 2020 Bengaluru riots. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had written to the Additional Director General of Police, seeking the withdrawal of the 2022 Hubballi riot cases.

Protest Before the Police Station

It may be recalled here that a riot took place before the Hubballi police station on 16 April 2022 followed by a posting of a graphic photo on WhatsApp depicting a saffron flag atop a mosque. In no time thousands of Muslims mobbed the police station resulting in violence while the cops had to register 12 FIRs’ and arrest 158 individuals involved in the riots. Although seven juvenile offenders including All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator Nazir Honya were released on bail, the remaining 151 accused have been holed up in Ballari and Kalaburagi jails. Though the police had arrested one Abhishek, for posting the WhatsApp status, the mob frenzy crowd pelted stones at the police station, hospital, temple and even houses.

Home Minister, Dr G Parameshwar, had then informed 12 ministerial colleagues who had made their recommendations about different cases and pleading withdrawal as the innocents were wrongly framed. At the same time, he had also clarified that “there is a procedure in place while a cabinet sub-committee will go through the proposals depending upon the merits which will be checked by the Home Department”.

Controversy on Transfer of Land Siddaramaiah-led Congress Government got embroiled in another major controversy when it transferred prime land in Bengaluru to the Minority Welfare Department for the construction of Maulana Azad/Moraraji Desai schools. The land originally donated by Muthoji Rai Sindia for a veterinary hospital in 1936 has been utilised by the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department. Now on the eve of Lok Sabha polls and in an attempt to appease the minority community the Congress Government has gone out of the way to woo its vote bank.

These actions indicate that the Congress in Karnataka could care less about development or security issues. They appear to be comfortable with prioritising the interests of the Muslim population that helped them acquire power, rather than working on a complete development agenda or a forward-thinking vision to address future difficulties and capitalise on emerging opportunities in Karnataka. The Congress Government isn’t interested in revenue generation; its sole objective is to deceive the public and drain the treasury. While PM Modi strives for a five trillion-dollar economy, Congress is preoccupied with divisive caste and minority appeasement tactics. Instead of prioritising public safety, they obsess over the intensity of bombs, an insult to people’s security concern. Rather than embracing forward-thinking policies, Congress is regressing into its old-fashioned, backward-looking arrogant nature and approach to politics. n