Amit Shah Exclusive: 'Congress party has no image... who will believe their guarantees?'
Amit Shah said: "They (Congress) distributed guarantee cards in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. Those were much better than the guarantees that what they are offering here. The party that has no image, who will believe their guarantees?"
FollowLashing at the culture of offering freebies during the election, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that people will never believe the "guarantees" doled out by parties like the Congress, which have "no image".Â
Karnataka Election 2023 Mega Exclusive: Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to Asianet News
Speaking exclusively to Asianet Suvarna News Editor Ajit Hanamakkanavar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: "They (Congress) distributed guarantee cards in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. Those were much better than the guarantees that they are offering here. The party that has no image, who will believe their guarantees?"
When asked about whether Congress's assurance to voters offering monthly doles of Rs 2000 or 200 units of free electricity for households bothered the BJP, he said: "Absolutely not. That's because they already have already received toilets for free worth Rs 1 lakh; they have received gas cylinders free of cost; they have got power connections free of cost in their houses. They have even received houses to stay in. They have received free food grains. Even the farmers get Rs 10,000 as doles. These things are already happening. There is no need for guarantees. People are getting it in advance."
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"The voter knows that all this will end ... What will he or she achieve by taking these Rs 2ooo," Shah said, refusing to term it as a debate point. "The poor will understand. That's because they are beneficiaries (of Narendra Modi government's schemes"
Shah's remarks come in the backdrop of the Congress party rolling out a series of freebies for voters in Karnataka, which goes to polls on May 10. The counting of votes will be undertaken on May 13.Â
Among other promises, the Congress has assured voters that Rs one crore will be allocated for each village panchayat, and Rs 5,000 crore for the Kalyana Karnataka region if the party came to power in the assembly election. Besides these, the Congress has also made five key "guarantees". These include 200 units of free power to every household, Rs 2,000 to woman head of families, Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18 to 25 years) and Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates for two years, free bus ride for women in public transport buses and 10 kg rice to every member of a BPL family a month.
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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had lashed out against the "revdi culture" (culture of distributing freebies). Mocking the Congress, Prime Minister Modi said that guarantees have no meaning when the party's warranty itself has expired.
Watch the full interview below
