‘Guarantees’ not freebies, Congress trying to empower the poor: Home minister Parameshwara

The guarantees given to the people by the Congress party in the elections are not ”freebies”, and the objective of the schemes is to empower the poor and downtrodden in society, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said here on Tuesday. Addressing party workers at the district Congress committee office here, he said the guarantees were given after a careful study and with full responsibility.

The Congress is a party working for the interests of the poor and the middle class, he said. Parameshwara said the people aggressively voted the Congress to power and their faith should be protected. The government will evolve a system to implement the programmes after allocating the necessary funds in the Budget. He alleged that BJP leaders in the state are coming out with irresponsible statements regarding the implementation of the guarantees.

The BJP never cares about their promises and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has not fulfilled the promise of retrieving black money and depositing Rs 15 lakh each in the bank accounts of all individuals, he said. The minister said he has asked the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner to identify 15 acres of land in Mangaluru to be developed as a gold and diamond hub. The hub will generate revenue for the state and further develop Mangaluru as the second most important city in the state, he said. Former minister B Ramanath Rai, MLC Manjunath Bhandary, Congress leaders J R Lobo, Mithun Rai and Mamatha Gatti were among those present at the meeting.