Spokespersons: Shri Randeep Singh Surjewala, Shri Siddaramaiah and Shri DK Shivakumar: Shri Randeep Surjewal said that Hon’ble Congress President, Hon’ble Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha… Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Saheb and Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji had a detailed interaction today along with General Secretary Organisation Shri K.C. Venugopal with Chief Minister of Karnataka, PCC President and Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji and Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Saheb also met up with our senior most ministers, some of whom are present here today. The current political situation in the state of Karnataka was discussed in detail. Chief Minister and PCC President-cum-Deputy Chief Minister briefed the Congress President and Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji on how a systematic and designed assault has been unleashed through an office of a puppet Governor by the BJP and the Janata Dal as part of their sinister conspiracy and design to destabilize an elected government. Frustrated by a decimating defeat, the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the entire BJP leadership are now hiding behind a rag doll Governor to attack the Congress government of Karnataka. This is not an attempt to dislodge or destabilize the Congress government of Karnataka, but in truth… as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister also said and all of us in the AICC are aware of, this is a sinister design to attack the five guarantees by which we are transferring Rs. 53,000 crore every year directly, transparently, honestly in the bank accounts of over 4 crore Kannadiga brothers and sisters… by way of Gruha Lakshmi- Rs. 2,000, by way of Gruha Jyoti- 200 units of electricity free, by way of Shakti- free bus travel scheme for women, by way of Anna Bhagya- 10 kg of rice to 4 crore 49 lakh households and by way of giving stipend to our graduates and diploma holders.

BJP for over one year has been attacking the Congress guarantees for they benefit the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Backward Classes, the Minorities, and the poor among the General Caste. BJP and Janata Dal are scared of the Congress guarantees and they somehow want the Congress guarantees to be stopped. This is not an attack on our Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah or on our Deputy Chief Minister Shri D.K. Shivakumar or on our government, this is really an attack on people of Karnataka by the Union… Narendra Modi government is drunk with power and using the puppet Governor to destabilize an elected government. This is also an assault on a Backward Class Chief Minister, who is now the senior most Chief Minister in the country. This is not an attack personally on him, but this is revenge-seeking by the BJP and the Janata Dal against people of Karnataka.

We apprised the Hon’ble Congress President, we apprised Shri Rahul Gandhi, Hon’ble Leader of Opposition. Congress government of Karnataka is committed to continuing with these Congress guarantees. We will face every assault by the Union government, by the Union Home Ministry and their rag doll Governor. In this regard, we will follow all our legal remedies. We have full faith in the majesty of the law and in the system of our judiciary and we will also follow up this battle. We have decided, we will take this battle in the court of the people.

The Governor has no answer as to why for years together now… for nearly five years, six years, he has not guaranteed sanction against Mr. Yediyurappa, a direction that was given to him by the Chief Minister? Why has the Governor not guaranteed sanction in an open and shut mining case against Mr. Kumaraswamy? Why has the Governor not given sanction against Mr. Nirani, the BJP leader? Why has the Governor not given sanction against Ms. Shashikala Annasaheb Jolle, the former BJP Minister? Why has the Governor not given sanction against half a dozen other BJP and Janata Dal leaders? This shows the partisan attitude of the Governor who is only acting as a frontman for the BJP and Janata Dal. We will not be deterred, we will not be cowed down, we will not bow down and everybody who is here... we have resolved that every Congress worker and every Congress legislator will fight this battle to protect the Congress guarantees.

I also want to say in the end… as my PCC President said, we stand united in this fight. There is no… because many people keep asking us, he said many people, as I was coming in, wanted to ask… might as well you say… we stand united, we stand in unison, we stand as one and we stand with our Chief Minister in this fight. We will not accept any assault, just because our Chief Minister comes from Backward Class, just because the Congress Party is fulfilling the aspiration of over 4 crore Kannadigas by way of implementing these guarantees.

Shri DK Shivakumar said- All my media friends! I think, already General Secretary has given an elaborate statement. One thing, I would like to state - the entire Congress Party, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge Ji and Rahul Ji, has discussed at length the recent political developments.

They stand by us; they are supporting us. They know that we have been tortured and they know that they (BJP) want to destabilize this government. The entire cadre of the Party and the leadership, both from the rank and file in the state and at the national level, stand unitedly with Shri Siddaramaiah Ji. We will support him… with him continuously supporting the downtrodden, backward classes of the entire state. Friday, August 23, 2024