Congress plans ‘Guarantee Samavesha’ in Karnataka to counter BJP’s “zero achievement” claims: Report
Bengaluru: While the BJP alleges that the Congress-led Karnataka government has made 'zero achievements' over the past two years, the ruling party is reportedly planning to launch a campaign called ‘Guarantee Samavesha’ to showcase the impact of its welfare schemes.
The Congress government plans to organise this event at the district level, inviting beneficiaries of its guarantee schemes, as reported by The New Indian Express on Wednesday.
Senior Congress leader and Chief Whip in the Upper House Saleem Ahmed stated that the party is planning large-scale events across districts to highlight their five guarantees. “CM Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar will finalise the dates along with the format of the event,’’ TNIE quoted Ahmed as saying.
He pointed out that the saffron party keeps accusing them of having no developmental achievements. “Through these events, we will tell them and the people about what guarantees have done for the poor,’’ he said.
Furthermore, Ahmed pointed to the Centre’s failure to release grants due to the state government. “We have two prominent ministers from Karnataka who are in PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet, Nirmala Sitharaman and Pralhad Joshi. What have they done for the state? We will speak about this in front of the people,’’ he asserted.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the Union government of treating Karnataka unfairly when it comes to sharing tax money and funds for central schemes.
Speaking at a public rally in Hosapete on Tuesday, which marked the completion of his government's two-year tenure, Siddaramaiah pointed out that Karnataka contributes approximately Rs 4.5 lakh crore annually in taxes but receives only Rs 65,000 crore in return.
“It means only Rs 14 for every Rs 100. Prime Minister Narendra Modi often talks of cooperative federalism. Is it cooperative federalism? This erodes the federal structure,” he said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
