Ahead of Karnataka Assembly polls, Congress launches campaign against BJP, questions unkept promises
Bengaluru, Aug 29: Preparing the pitch for the Assembly polls next year, the Congress in Karnataka on Monday announced a campaign "Nim Hatra Idya Uttara?" (Do you have an answer?), against the ruling BJP in the State for its "unfulfilled" promises made by the party in its election manifesto in 2018.
The campaign, seen as a counter to BJP's Janotsava' campaign, was launched by AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC president D K Shivakumar, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, among others, and will go on till the 2023 Assembly polls with the Congress asking the BJP questions every day.
The BJP made 600 promises to the people of Karnataka and they haven't started work on 91 per cent of them. This is a campaign we have initiated to put the truth before the people, summarising the betrayal by the saffron party, Surjewala said.
Speaking to reporters here, he accused the BJP of being power-hungry and alleged that its administration was corrupt.
"This is a government of four Cs - crumbling infrastructure, complete policy paralysis, corruption and communal tension," he said as he called Bommai as perhaps the most incompetent CM in the history of Karnataka heading the most-corrupt government in the country.
Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of bringing down the State's image by indulging in corruption, referring to scams like the one related to recruitment of sub- inspectors of the police.
To hide their failures, they are raising religious issues," he said.
The BJP's 2018 manifesto was titled 'Namma Karnatakakakke Namma Vachana' (Our promise to our Karnataka), Shivakumar said and added, "Instead they have done vanchane (betrayed) the people of the State."
ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಭರವಸೆಗಳು ಆರು ನೂರು , ಆಗಿದ್ದು ಮೂರು.
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) August 29, 2022
ವಚನಭ್ರಷ್ಟತೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ವೈಫಲ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನ ಮರೆಮಾಚುತ್ತಿರುವ @BJP4Karnataka ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರಿಸುವ ಸಮಯವಿದು.
ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಡೆದಿದ್ದೀರಾ? #NimHatraIdyaUttara pic.twitter.com/pvO877f4sl
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.
Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
