Belagavi: An upbeat Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that the ruling party would win the Karnataka assembly poll and return to power again.

"The Congress will win the assembly election in Karnataka again and return to power as our government fulfilled all the promises it made and lived up to the people's expectations," said an elated Gandhi at a public rally near Ramdurg in the state's northwest border district.

Resuming his tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Gandhi said though they both have money and media with them, the Congress had the people with it because of its good governance in the state.

Gandhi was on a three-day visit to the state since Saturday to seek the people's blessings in the assembly poll, due in April-May, through the Jan Aashirwada Yatra, organised by the party's state unit.

Urging Modi to learn from Siddaramaiah how to deliver promises and govern the state, the party chief decried the former for dubbing the Congress government being corrupt and taking 10 per cent commission in its projects.

Terming Modi a self-proclaimed "chowkidar" (watchman) of the country, the party chief expressed dismay over his failure to check a smart trader duping a state-run bank of crores of rupees and went away scot free.

The self-proclaimed "chowkidar" of the nation is shockingly silently while crores of public money is looted right under his watch. "Will Modi speak up and inform the nation how fraudsters manage to get away while the 'chowkidar' silently watches," thundered Gandhi.

Winding up the second leg of his visit to the state a fortnight after the four-day tour of the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the party chief interacted with the rural people, farmers and women from self-help group.

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Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): A man was arrested for posing as a Lokayukta officer and attempting to extort money via WhatsApp, Ullal police said.

According to a press release from the Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru, Dhananjaya Reddy Thota (31) allegedly called Purushottam, a panchayat officer, posing as a Lokayukta official. He demanded money to "resolve" an alleged corruption case. Suspicious of the caller’s identity, Purushottam alerted authorities, prompting an investigation.

Tracing the call led police to Andhra Pradesh, where Thota was apprehended on Saturday. Preliminary investigations revealed that he had no connection to the Lokayukta and was using the scheme to exploit officials by leveraging fear of legal action.

Ullal police are now probing whether Thota was involved in similar scams elsewhere. The case highlights the need for vigilance against such fraudulent activities targeting government employees.

Thota has been remanded to police custody and further investigations are underway.

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