Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has said that the forthcoming Lok Sabha election will be fought on the basis of works done by the BJP-led government, including abolition of Triple talaq and Article 370, 33% reservation for women, and others.
Speaking after inaugurating the Dharwad Lok Sabha election office of BJP in Hubballi on Saturday, he claimed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarkable works had been completed taking the country on the path of progress. These works would get the party to victory again, he said.
Mr. Joshi said that starting from 2004, he had been working without damaging the trust people had bestowed upon him and would continue to work to retain the trust they had in him. In order to make the country the world’s third biggest economy, there was need to re-elect Mr. Modi, he said.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Arvind Bellad said that Mr. Joshi had initiated and completed several works including establishment of IIT, development of roads, schools, anganwadis, railway station, and airport. He would win with an even better victory margin than before, he said.
Mr. Bellad alleged that the State had become bankrupt because of the wrong economic policy of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. As there was no proper tax collection and lack of funds for development, he was trying to blame the Centre for his mistakes, he said.
Mocking Mr. Siddaramaiah’s line of argument, Mr. Bellad sought to know what would he do if liquor buyers started asking for more grants based on their contribution as excise duty.
MLA Mahesh Tenginakai had ensured comprehensive development of the constituency by getting more grants for development. However, the Congress was trying to mislead the people, he alleged. MLA M.R. Patil, in charge of Dharwad Lok Sabha for BJP M. Nagaraj, and district president Thippanna Majjagi spoke.
Shettar absent
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar was conspicuous by his absence in the programme. This is the third important programme he has skipped after rejoining the BJP. Clarifying on the issue, Mr. Joshi said that as Mr. Shettar was out of station, his absence should not be interpreted differently.
Later, he told presspersons that Minister Santosh Lad had been given the target of scolding Mr. Modi and Mr. Joshi thrice and twice a week, respectively.
