Karnataka election update: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday addressed party rallies in Bhalki and Humnabad in Bidar district, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
"You know the BJP very well in Karnataka. I didn't coin the slogan of "40% Commission Govt", it was coined by you - the people of Karnataka," Rahul Gandhi said Bhalki.
"...If we want to take OBC in the country forward and give them their rights, the first step would be for the Prime Minister to release data of the OBC census. PM will never do this as he doesn't want the welfare of OBC. Congress will do this as soon as we get the opportunity..," he added.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC President DK Shivakumar, were present at the rally.
Former Minister and KPCC Working President Eshwar Khandre and former Minister Rajashekar B Patil are sitting MLAs and the party's candidates from Bhalki and Humnabad Assembly segments respectively.
Gandhi on Sunday had addressed the 'Jai Bharat' rally in Kolar, the same place from where he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and also stripped of his Parliament membership.
Adani is a symbol of corruption, says Rahul Gandhi targeting PM
Gandhi on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by bringing up the Adani "corruption" issue in this Karnataka district headquarters town and reiterated that he was not scared of the BJP government at the Centre.
It was in Kolar in 2019, during Lok Sabha election campaigning, that he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and stripped of his Parliament membership last month.
In his first visit to Karnataka after Assembly polls were announced on March 29, Gandhi emphasised on the Adani issue to target the Prime Minister and sought to know Modi’s "relation" with businessman Gautam Adani.
"I was disqualified from Parliament. They (central government) think that they will scare me by removing me and threatening me. I am not the one to get scared," Gandhi told the crowd at the event called 'Jai Bharat'.
"Till the time I get the reply, I will keep asking this question. You disqualify me, jail me or do whatever you want, I am not going to get scared," he added.
Alleging that there was no investigation happening against Adani Group's firms that operate in the defence infrastructure, Gandhi charged that the chairman of the beleaguered conglomerate has appointed a Chinese man in his "shell company".
(With PTI input)
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