Karnataka Congress leaders have attacked the BJP, with BK Hariprasad criticizing the party’s reaction to Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, and Ajay Dharam Singh questioning the Centre’s reduced funding share for the Bengaluru Metro project.
Congress Criticizes BJP Over Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir
Karnataka Congress President BK Hariprasad on Thursday criticised the BJP over its reaction to Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, saying the party should step out of their “Mussolini-like fascist mindset”. Hariprasad said the book documents how the Congress was strengthened through a long period of struggle in Indian history and the challenges it faced during that time.
“The BJP and RSS should step out of Mussolini’s fascist mindset. Sonia Gandhi ji wrote a book. This book is about how Congress was strengthened during a long period of struggle in Indian history. It shows how they faced every difficulty and made Congress stronger,” he said. He also referred to the period between 1999 and 2004, alleging that during BJP and RSS-led government rule, the country was on the verge of breaking and Sonia Gandhi helped prevent that from happening.
“When the country was on the verge of breaking apart during the BJP-RSS rule between 1999 and 2004. Her (Sonia Gandhi) experience from that time is also written in the book,” he added. Hariprasad claimed that the book’s sales record had made BJP supporters jealous. He further said that a book released by the “56-inch Vishwaguru” had not been bought and read by even 56 people.
“The book was released the day before yesterday. It’s a record internationally because no other book has sold this much. This is making the blind devotees very jealous. The 56-inch ‘Vishwaguru’ had his book released, but even 56 people haven’t bought and read it. That’s why these people are upset,” he said.
Dispute Over Bengaluru Metro Funding
Meanwhile, Karnataka Minister Ajay Dharam Singh on Thursday questioned the Centre’s contribution to the funding of the Bengaluru Metro project ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city for its inauguration. Singh claimed that the Centre had provided only 16.2 per cent of the total funds, amounting to approximately Rs 12,000 crore, while the state’s share stood at 85 per cent.
He said the Centre and the state should ideally have contributed equally, recalling that the funding arrangement during the UPA government was based on a 50-50 contribution. “The central government has provided only 16.2% of the total funds, which amounts to approximately Rs 12,000 crore. Ideally, the central and state governments should have contributed 50% each; however, the central government’s contribution is a mere 15%,” he said.
Questioning the Prime Minister’s visit for the inauguration, Singh said the state could have added more Pink Line infrastructure if the Centre had contributed 50 per cent of the funds. “I fail to understand why the Prime Minister is coming here for the inauguration… During the tenure of the UPA government, we used to receive a 50-50% contribution—half from the state and half from the Centre. Now, the Centre’s share is 15%, while the state’s share is 85%. Therefore, if you provide us with that 50%, we could have even more Pink Lines,” he added. (ANI)
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