Assembly polls: Expect Congress victory in four states, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

In a press conference in Mysore on Friday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "According to the information I have received, we will win in four states."

Reacting about whether the Lok Sabha elections will be postponed if the mandate is in favour of the Congress, the Chief Minister stated that he expects the election code of conduct to be announced by the end of March for the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing questions about the inauguration of the Ram Mandir on January 22, Siddaramaiah stated that there is no objection from the Congress. He emphasized the country's unity in diversity and dismissed the notion that voters would be swayed by the inauguration.

He said, "The dispute has been going on for years and has been settled in court. We have no objection for building Ram Mandir. It is a myth that voters will change because of it. People of our country have believed in unity in diversity. Despite the British and Mughal attacks, we survived as a country. Although there are many castes, languages and religions in this country, we are united as a country with solidarity."

Responding to the BJP's criticism of Karnataka in other states' elections, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of being afraid of Karnataka and himself. He pointed out the political duality in the BJP's stance, highlighting their opposition to guarantee schemes initially and later adopting similar policies.

The CM said, "They are afraid of Karnataka and Siddaramaiah. Therefore, they have spoken about me and Karnataka in Madhya Pradesh. The Prime Minister had opposed our guarantees. Now BJP has sent a van with the slogan 'Vikasit Bharat' -Prime Minister's Guarantee written on it. This van was sent by the Government of India. Earlier they had opposed our guarantee schemes and now they have declared guarantees. The Prime Minister had opposed the concept of announcing guarantee schemes, but now he himself has announced the guarantees. This should be called political duality."

"The contractors association has alleged that the BJP is a 40 per cent government. We have implemented the five guarantees and have kept our promises and will implement the remaining guarantee in January," he added.

Responding to the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy who had called a press conference today, the CM said, "Let him discuss this in the assembly session and we will give a reply. The government will not run away. When has Kumaraswamy told the truth? It was always a hit-and-run case. Not all lies can be investigated. Investigation can be done only if there is any base or documents available."

Reacting to HD Kumaraswamy's statement that he had challenged to investigate his corruption, the Chief Minister said, "If we have to, we will do it." There is no question of going back. He said that if either Kumaraswamy or our party members commit offence, they should be punished. The government will not hesitate to investigate Kumaraswamy's government corruption, he said.

In response to Kumaraswamy's statement that a high amount of electricity bill has been unnecessarily imposed on him, the CM said that the electricity bill will be given by BESCOM. Kumaraswamy claimed that he had not committed any offence but later he paid the fine, this shows that he had admitted his offence.

Responding to a journalist's query about the central allocation of the state's share of GST, the CM said, "The term of the 15th Finance Commission is coming to an end. If injustice is done to the state in the upcoming 16th Finance Commission, our government will decide the steps to be taken."

In response to the fact that the state government has given a deadline of one week to the Centre for providing drought relief, the CM said that a request has been submitted to the Centre for relief of Rs 17,900 crore. The Central Drought Study Team has not given a report even after a month and the Centre has also not responded to the government's request. Providing crop relief is not giving alms. The compensation which is given through NDRF is the amount of tax paid by the state. The CM said that serious discussions were held in the cabinet meeting held yesterday regarding drought relief.

Answering the journalist's question of whether leaders of JD(S) or BJP will come to Congress, the CM said, "People who agree with the ideology and leadership of Congress are welcome. Congress has won 136 of the total 224 seats in the state. As the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, the power of the Congress needs to be expanded. Communal parties should not come back to power. Kumaraswamy does politics of hatred and jealousy. My son Yatindra is the president of the Ashraya committee and he is working hard for the development of the constituency. But Kumaraswamy is doing politics of hatred by making false accusations against him. In my political career, I have never done politics of hatred and will never do so. Kumaraswamy knows nothing but lies", he said.

Responding to the ongoing investigation of previous government scams, the CM said that commissions have been formed to investigate scams including 40 per cent commission, Covid, and Bitcoin and the report is awaited.

On a lighter note, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in India's victory in the World Cup final match against Australia, scheduled for November 19. He wished the Indian team success, highlighting their unbeaten journey to the finals. (ANI)