Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge on Thursday made an emotional appeal to the people of Karnataka saying that he belonged to the state and he should be supported like Prime Minister Narendra Modi is supported in Gujarat.
Addressing a huge public rally in Raichur, he said: “I went to Gujarat. There PM Modi used to claim that he is ‘bhoomi putra’ (son of the soil) of Gujarat during election campaigns. Today I am saying I am the son of the soil here. This is my birth place. I am telling PM Modi that this is my district. I have been elected from here for 50 years.”
“Today I am in the position of Congress President. Sonia Gandhi and other top leaders have chosen me for the post. This post of AICC President is not available to all. (Mahatma) Gandhi, (Pandit Jawaharlal) Nehru, (Sardar Vallabhbhai) Patel and Maulana Azad were in this position.
“With your blessings I am in this position now. You (people of Karnataka) should save the respect of the position. The Congress candidate must win. I am the son of your soil. Now I have rights too. We have self-respect.
“If you have self-respect, elect Congress to power like how people of Gujarat supported PM Modi and helped his party to win. You should respect me by ensuring the victory of the Congress party,” he said.
“The 371 J special status to this region was given due to my efforts. The seven districts of this region got the status by the Congress led government at the Centre after amendment to the Constitution. Because of this, people of this region are in top posts,” Kharge said.
“The BJP government has only changed the name of the region as Kalyan Karnataka and didn’t help much. Amit Shah has come to campaign in this state. What is his contribution to the state? No new industry is being set up. People are not given jobs. What is the achievement of this double engine government?” he questioned.
“In our state the most backward districts are Kalaburagi and Yadgir. But, developed Gujarat has more backward districts than in Karnataka. We have brought the airport to Kalaburagi, but they have not given money. The people of this region are treated with a step-motherly attitude,” he alleged.
