BAGALKOTCHIKKODI: Hinting at a change in government in Karnataka post the May 23 Lok Sabha results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in Bagalkot on Thursday, “A big change will happen in state politics after May 23. The alliance government will come under immense pressure as soon as BJP gains a majority in the Lok Sabha polls.”
The statement, meant to put the coalition on edge, succeeded in creating a buzz in the 40,000-strong audience, which had braved sizzling temperatures to attend the Vijay Sankalp Yatra in Bagalkot.
He said the change will give coalition partners Congress and JD(S) sleepless nights, and exuded confidence that the BJP would do well in Karnataka. Modi was addressing voters of Vijayapura and Bagalkot on the outskirts of Bagalkot.
Surprisingly, Modi echoed the statement made by state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, who had said the alliance would collapse after parliamentary election.
While it is clear that the PM meant the BJP would make another bid to form the government in the state, he didn’t go so far as to say that the government would fall, instead saying that they would come “under pressure”. Labelling the coalition “corrupt and unstable”, Modi accused the government of suppressing development of Karnataka in the past year. “Congress and JD(S) are in a hurry to loot as much as possible, as they don’t have a guarantee that the alliance will complete its five-year tenure,” he said.
Taking a jibe at JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and his family for turning emotional, Modi said, “It seems the emotional drama of Deve Gowda and his sons will never end. In every programme, emotion runs in this family. The people of Karnataka never thought they would have a weeping CM.”
Reaches out to Chikkodi farmers
Addressing a huge rally in Chikkodi, Modi announced that all farmers in the country would be covered under the Centre’s Kisan Samman Yojana, which was earlier meant only for those who had minimum five acres. “We will remove the rule which earlier said the yojana will be applicable to only those having a minimum of five acres. Every farmer in the state who is in a crisis due to the policies of the state government, will now benefit,’’ said Modi.
Questioning the state government on why it was not implementing the loan waiver scheme for farmers, Modi said the central scheme had been launched and 3 crore farmers had benefited. However, the Karnataka government had sent the list of a few farmers under the yojana, with an intention of preventing its effective implementation.