Rs 1 lakh reward for proving no price rise under Cong govt: Bommai

Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai has challenged the Congress government, announcing a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone who can prove that commodity prices have not increased since the Congress came to power in Karnataka. He alleged that the government’s biggest achievement has been accumulating loans worth Rs. 4 lakh crore.

Speaking at a BJP protest against price hikes by the state government, Bommai alleged that the prices of essential commodities and services, including water, cooking oil, drinking oil, garbage collection, milk and alcohol, had increased two to three times.

Criticising the government over the alleged rise in irregularities, Bommai said those in power were taking credit for implementing major projects despite being involved in various activities themselves. Recalling former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s tenure, he said that when floods hit the state during his administration, Yediyurappa did not wait for assistance from the Union government. Instead, he announced relief measures independently, toured the state and ensured that compensation reached affected people. Bommai said Yediyurappa deserved credit for announcing compensation of Rs. 5 lakh for houses damaged by floods, a move he described as unprecedented in the country. Bommai said that during his tenure as Chief Minister, additional funds were provided along with assistance from the Union government, and compensation of up to Rs. 25,000 was extended to farmers and for irrigation-related losses.

He said BJP legislators, under the leadership of Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, had every moral right to demand similar relief from the present government. He also recalled that when the Union government reduced petrol prices, the state government had reduced taxes by around Rs. 7, providing relief to the public.

Criticising the Congress government, Bommai alleged that although it had failed to achieve any significant development milestones during its three years in power, it had accumulated a massive debt of Rs. 4 lakh crore, with borrowings running into lakhs of crores every year. “This is completely a government of mismanagement and self-interest. There is no willingness to bring about reforms. From the Chief Minister onwards, everyone is busy trying to protect their positions. As a result, they have no time to respond to people’s problems,” he said.

Bommai alleged that the state’s treasury was completely depleted and that the government would struggle to pay salaries to government employees and Grade IV municipal workers in the coming days. He further claimed that ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers had not received their honorariums for the past three to four months. He also alleged that the 108 emergency ambulance service had come to a complete standstill and that drivers had not been paid their salaries.

Comparing the government to a broken-down bus, Bommai said no reforms were possible under the present administration. “Just as a completely damaged bus is sent to the scrapyard, people will send this government to the scrapyard in 2028,” he said.

He also alleged that despite the Congress government’s claims about its five guarantee schemes, only the 5 kg of rice provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reaching the poor, while schemes such as housing assistance, Gruha Lakshmi and Gruha Jyothi were not being implemented effectively.

Bommai said prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed, making life increasingly difficult for ordinary people. “If anything has become cheaper, it is only the value of human beings and human lives,” he alleged, adding that the Congress government had pushed Karnataka’s economy into a severe crisis.

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The Hans India