'BJP got to power on false promise of Rs 15 Lakh in bank account of each voter'

Chikkamagaluru: Congress leader K. Jayaprakash Hegde, who is contesting from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha Constituency, trained his guns on the BJP government’s unfulfilled promises during his election campaign in Chikkamagaluru. Hegde said the BJP got to power with the “false promise” of “depositing Rs 15 lakh in every Indian family’s bank account”, which remains unfulfilled even after a decade.

He was addressing voters in the villages of Ajjampura Taluk including Jodi Bokikere, Sokke, Baggavalli, Nagamangala, Gourapura, Sollapur, Beguru, Mugali, Gadihalli, Shivani, Tyagadakatte, Cheeranahalli on Sunday.

Hegde mocked the BJP government’s unfulfilled promise of bringing back black money from abroad and “depositing Rs 15 lakh in every Indian family’s bank account”. Despite being in power for ten years, Hegde pointed out that this pledge remained unfulfilled, stating, “It has been 10 years since the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre. But the black money remained black. It never became white.”

Hegde contrasted this with the Congress state government’s fulfilment of “five guarantees” made before the assembly elections, claiming they have instilled hope and brought peace to the people.

Highlighting his past achievements as a Member of Parliament, Hegde emphasized his efforts to benefit areca nut (betel nut) growers in the region. He claimed credit for securing historical increases in import fees for areca nut during his tenure, which he asserts helped combat smuggling and resulted in significant gains for nut farmers.

“When I first as a Member of Parliament, the import duty for foreign betel nut was only Rs 35. In 2012, we pressured Manmohan Singh’s government to raise the import duty on areca nuts to Rs 75. Again in 2013, the duty was increased to Rs 110 to curb the smuggling of areca nuts and to benefit the local growers. Areca nut crops witnessed a historic price,” he said.

Hegde also accused the central government of adopting a “discriminatory policy” towards South India regarding GST revenue sharing. He likened this treatment to receiving “butter for one eye and lime for another,” alleging unequal distribution of funds despite Karnataka’s substantial contributions to GST.

“Karnataka ranks second among the states that pay GST to the central government. But the central government is following a discriminatory policy in giving us the share of GST due. By giving less money to South India, it is following a step-mother policy,” Hegde said.

Continuing his tirade against incumbent MP Shobha Karandlaje, Hegde accused her of neglecting the constituents’ concerns and failing to address their problems. “Shobha Karandlaje, who got votes by piggybacking on the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was elected twice as an MP, did not listen to your problems. Modi did not respond to your problems. Shobha did not even come to the constituency to meet the voters,” he lashed out.

He assured to prioritize irrigation facilities and promised to liaise with the state government. “I will meet DCM DK Sivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to provide irrigation facility here and make sincere efforts to provide irrigation facility,” he said.

Local Congress leaders, including Tarikere Constituency MLA G.H. Srinivas and Congress district president Dr. K.P. Anshumanth, among others were present.