CM Siddaramaiah calls Kumaraswamy anti-poor for speaking against Congress' guarantees

Bengaluru: Accusing JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy of hating the poor, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the voters will teach his party as well its ally BJP a lesson in the Lok Sabha elections. In a message on micro-blogging site 'X', formerly Twitter, Siddaramaiah hit out at former CM Kumaraswamy.

"Why do you hate poor people? It has become a habit for you to talk bad about our guarantee schemes which are dedicated to uplift the poor families. Your baseless opposition means opposing the upliftment of poor families. It is time to introspect your intent," the Chief Minister said.

Siddaramaiah said crores of people are benefitting from the guarantee schemes and those celebrating these schemes include the voters of BJP and JD(S).

He even asked Kumaraswamy to go to the villages and talk to the beneficiaries there.

The guarantee schemes are mainly designed to benefit the poor people of the state. It is neither a tax waiver to help the rich, nor is it a loan waiver scheme, Siddaramaiah pointed out.

The Chief Minister took a dig at Kumaraswamy for not speaking against the Centre. Instead, he has made the task of opposing guarantee schemes as his motto, he



charged.

"You're attacking me on a daily basis with false accusations. If criticising me gives you peace of mind, please continue. I can understand your disappointment and frustration after the election defeat,"Siddaramaiah quipped.

According to the Chief Minister, the entire country is laughing at the hypocrisy of the BJP.

"Until recently, the BJP, which used to make fun of all such schemes, including guarantee schemes, as "freebies', has included all such "freebies' in the election manifesto of five states. But now, Kumaraswamy doesn't have the guts to question this hypocrisy of the BJP," Siddaramaiah said.

Guarantee schemes were part of the Congress party's election manifesto and people gave his party the mandate based on the promises, he added.

Siddaramaiah warned Kumaraswamy for speaking against the guarantees.

"If you continue to oppose the guarantee schemes, the wise voters of the state will teach both BJP and JDS parties a lesson in the next Lok Sabha elections as well," he said.

Kumaraswamy has been critical of the Congress government saying that its guarantees are not being implemented in toto and are flawed.