Ramanagara: Dr G Parameshwar accused the BJP of intimidating the State government, elected with 136 seats by the people, through the Governor. He was addressing 'Janandolan', a program organized by Congress to protest against injustice to the state by NDA, and against the irregularities during BJP and JDS tenure, at Bidadi on Friday.
"We faced the Vidhan Sabha elections under the leadership of KPCC President D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. If the people removed the corrupt BJP government from power and elected us, we promised to provide them a rule of social justice. We had also assured five guarantees to uplift poor, downtrodden and minorities. But BJP had criticized this by saying that Congress was issuing empty promises. Irrigation projects, road development and all other works are being implemented properly. So BJP and JDS are making non-existent accusations", he said.
Parameshwar alleged that H D Kumaraswamy, after allying with BJP, had hit a jackpot and became a union minister. Citing JDS breaking its alliance with Congress after 14 months to form a government in the state, the Home Minister said that Kumaraswamy would abandon BJP too. He gave the example of BJP-JDS differences about the padayatra against MUDA scam and prophesied that their alliance wouldn't last long.
ALSO READ: Governor's notice illegal, murder of Constitution, destruction of democracy: Siddaramaiah
"They are levelling allegations against a site, purchased in 1935, which was turned into sites by MUDA. BJP must provide evidence of a single file in which Siddaramaiah has signed or any directions given by him [regarding the sites]. We have organized the meeting to tell the truth to people. We will provide a list of irregularities that happened in the time of BJP rule. Let them give a similar list, if possible", he challenged.
Referring to various irregularities under BJP rule, Parameshwar cited BJP legislator Basangouda Patil Yatnal's accusation about the then Health Minister Sudhakar embezzling four thousand crore rupees in COVID medications provided to the public, Goolihatti Shekhar's accusations about 47 crore misappropriated in Bhovi Corporation and D S Veerayya withdrawing money, sanctioned for Devaraja Aras truck terminal, through a cheque to build a house. He questioned that if the BJP people had any shame for levelling allegations against Siddaramaiah after looting thousands of crores from the government.
"On July 26, T J Abraham had given a complaint to the Governor. Chief Secretary of the government had provided a proper answer to the Governor regarding this. But you intimidate us immediately? And give us a show-cause notice, unheard of in history? What you are doing is a mistake. The cabinet ministry has decided for the notice to be revoked. No one in the government has committed a mistake. We will provide a blameless rule for the next four years too and save our word to the people", he said.
Dy CM Shivakumar also launched a tirade against the opposition in the 'Janandolan' meeting.
Minister Zameer Ahmed, Dr M C Sudhakar and many other senior congress leaders were present.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday urged citizens to protect the ethos of the Constitution and said the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited in the 75th year of its adoption.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society, and the stronger it is, the stronger the country will be.
In a swipe at the BJP, the opposition party also asserted that at a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, "our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the people of India should come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution.
"The 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution has begun today. I extend my warmest wishes to all Indians on this historic occasion," the Congress president said in a post on X.
"The Constitution of India, painstakingly and carefully drafted by our foremothers and forefathers is the lifeblood of our nation. It guarantees us social, economic and political rights. It constitutes India into a sovereign socialist democratic republic," he said.
Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are not just ideals or ideas, they are the way of life for 140 crore Indians, Kharge asserted.
"Today, we recall the tremendous contribution of the Constituent Assembly and its prolific members. We are forever indebted to their vision and wisdom," he said.
Kharge said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Rajendra Prasad, KM Munshi, Sarojini Naidu, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and several eminent personalities were not just revered national icons but inspiring personalities who became the torchbearers of hope for generations together.
No mention of the Constituent Assembly should be complete without recalling the contribution of the 15 women members who provided equally important inputs for an inclusive India, the Congress president said.
"We must also not forget that the Constituent Assembly received uncountable suggestions from ordinary citizens which are a matter of record," he said.
The Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru and Ambedkar's momentous last speech to the Constituent Assembly form the Magna Carta in protecting the tenets of the Constitution, he said.
"We, the patriotic citizens of India, now have the onerous task of protecting the ethos of the Constitution," Kharge said.
"We, the people of India, should, therefore, come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution," he said.
In the 75th year of the Constitution's adoption, the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited, just like the era of the national movement, the Congress president said.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, "Heartiest greetings to all of you on Constitution Day. The basic spirit of our Constitution is that justice and rights should be equal for all. Everyone should get an opportunity to live with self-respect."
"The Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society. The stronger it is, the stronger our country will be," he said.
"On this day, I salute the fighters, martyrs and every member of the Constituent Assembly who protected the idea of the Constitution and reiterate my resolve to protect it," Gandhi said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that freedom fighters and great people together created a Constitution that ensured freedom, equality, fraternity and justice for crores of Indians.
"Our Constitution is the protective shield of crores of Indians which gives them every kind of rights. Happy Constitution Day to all the people of the country," she said.
"Salute to the great ancestors, martyrs, revolutionaries and every member of the Constituent Assembly. This democracy and Constitution, obtained from their tireless hard work and sacrifices, is our pride. Come, let us pledge that we will protect it in every situation," Priyanka Gandhi said in her post in Hindi on X.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said India marks an important landmark as it celebrates the 75th Constitution Day today, a day when Ambedkar's revolutionary text was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
The Constitution of India is not merely a document, it is India's soul and history of millennia in motion, he said in a post on X.
"A living document that gives hope to 140 crore Indians, the Constitution is what keeps the ideals of justice, equality, inclusivity and democracy alive in India," Venugopal said.
"At a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant," Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh recalled two books on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly.
Many books have been, and continue to be written on the making of the Constitution. But two have become evergreen classics, he said.
"Granville Austin's scholarly 'The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation' first appeared in 1966. He had got unprecedented access to the private collections of a number of key personalities, especially Dr. Rajendra Prasad and K.M. Munshi. He had also interviewed many members of the Constituent Assembly," Ramesh said.
B Shiva Rao's magisterial four-volume "The Framing of the Indian Constitution" was published in 1968, he noted. It has a very poignant letter from Nehru to Shiva Rao on writing a foreword sent just three days before the then prime minister passed away, Ramesh recalled.
Incidentally, Shiva Rao's almost now-forgotten brother Benegal Narsing Rau was a pivotal player in the making of the Constitution, he said.