BJP-run Karnataka govt is country's most corrupt: Rahul Gandhi
Bengaluru, Apr 1: Setting the mood for Assembly elections in Karnataka due next year, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday exhorted party leaders in the State to work together, as he set an ambitious target to win a minimum of 150 seats.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to speak about corruption in his election rallies, but the country's "most corrupt government" is in Karnataka, run by the BJP.
Gandhi said the Congress will win in Karnataka with a huge majority in the 225-member assembly, and will form a government that will work for poor, weaker sections, small traders , small and medium businesses, and take the state on the "right path once again".
"We are faced with an election in Karnataka, and Karnataka has always had the spirit of the Congress party. This is a natural Congress state," Gandhi said.
Addressing Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's extended executive meeting here, he said, "We should be very clear in our mind that we are going to get not less than 150 seats. So we should start our calculations."
Noting that winning a minimum 150 seats is not a difficult task, Gandhi said, this is actually quite an easy one for Congress, if the party gets together, fights together in a united way, fights on the right issues and if it guarantees merit as the criteria for candidates, leaders and workers.
He said it is very important to promote people based on the service they have done for the party, instead of promoting those based on likes and dislikes.
"....we should be absolutely ruthless with this idea. I don't think we should be deciding tickets based on past history, what a person has done 20 years ago. I think we should be basing tickets on the work the person is doing for the party today," he said, adding that loyal, good representatives of the party, must be protected and rewarded.
This is the first visit of the top Congress leader to the State as it prepares for the assembly elections, amid speculations that early polls is also a possibility.
Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, state Congress president D K Shivakumar, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah were among a host of senior leaders present at the event.
Gandhi in his address called on Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, Kharge and other senior leaders to fight the election unitedly.
"The most important thing is all of you must fight together, it is your biggest responsibility, you are already fulfilling it, but it has to be more intense. You should all together make Congress win 150 seats," he told them.
"We should not fight an election to make it a close election. We should fight the election to make it a decisive victory for the Congress party, minimum of 150 seats, not one less than that," he said, adding that there is not much time for elections and that he would travel in the state in the days to come.
Noting that unemployment, economic collapse, inflation were the biggest issues before the country, the Congress leader said, note ban, wrong GST and farm laws have caused damage to the country and the situation today is such that even if BJP government wants, they can't provide jobs as they have destroyed small and medium businesses.
"India today is not in a position to provide jobs for its youth, this has caused the biggest damage for the country and will cause much bigger damage in the days to come," he said.
Hitting out at the BJP government in the state, Gandhi said, it is not a legitimately elected government, as it was formed using financial resources and subterfuge.
He said: "Today if Modi comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption and wants to fight against it, people might laugh. The BJP government here is known for 40 per cent (commission)....contractors are saying it and not Congress. Modi speaking on corruption is a joke, he cannot speak on the issue anywhere in the country," he said.
BJP's aim is to snatch money or resources of the poor and transfer it to two or three big businessmen, and it is basically a "financial transfer mechanism system", he said, adding that, "their method is to divide the country, create fear, which we call polarisation."
Gandhi said, Congress' responsibility is to raise real issues like jobs, setting right the economy, and bringing together different sections of the society. "They (BJP) divide, we unite....we should do this in Karnataka also."
Complimenting the state Congress unit for enrolling more than 60 lakh members into the party and most of them youth, he said, during the upcoming elections youth and women should be the focus of the party, whether it is in ticket distribution or in the organisation.
He also interacted with some party functionaries, connected to the event virtually, who had made maximum number of membership enrolments.
BJP’s Karnataka Model of Corruption
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 1, 2022
Pay 40% Commission, or face Omission! pic.twitter.com/ak00Rcdvaa
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Parliament passes Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025
New Delhi (PTI): Parliament early Friday passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha had on Thursday approved the Bill after over a 12-hour debate.
In Rajya Sabha, the Bill got 128 votes in its favour and 95 against after all the amendments moved by the opposition were rejected.
In the lower house, the bill was supported by 288 MPs while 232 voted against it.
Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Bill was brought with a number of amendments based on suggestions given by various stakeholders.
"The Waqf Board is a statutory body. All government bodies should be secular," the minister said, explaining the inclusion of non-Muslims on the board.
He, however, said the number of non-Muslims has been restricted to only four out of 22.
Rijiju also alleged that the Congress and other opposition parties, and not the BJP, were trying to scare Muslims with the Waqf Bill.
"You (opposition) are pushing Muslims out of the mainstream," he added.
He said for 60 years, the Congress and others ruled the country, but did not do much for Muslims and the community continues to live in poverty.
"Muslims are poor, who is responsible? You (Congress) are. Modi is now leading the government to uplift them," the minister said.
According to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Waqf tribunals will be strengthened, a structured selection process will be maintained, and a tenure will be fixed to ensure efficient dispute resolution.
As per the Bill, while Waqf institutions' mandatory contribution to Waqf boards is reduced from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, Waqf institutions earning over Rs 1 lakh will undergo audits by state-sponsored auditors.
A centralised portal will automate Waqf property management, improving efficiency and transparency.
The Bill proposes that practising Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate their property to the Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules.
It stipulates that women must receive their inheritance before the Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.
The Bill proposes that an officer above the rank of collector investigate government properties claimed as Waqf.
It also proposes that non-Muslim members be included in the central and state Waqf boards for inclusivity.
