Congress district manifesto invokes legacy of its past MPs

MANGALURU: Congress-JD(S) leaders questioned the contribution of sitting BJP MP

Nalin Kumar Kateel

to

Dakshina Kannada

Lok Sabha constituency, and claimed that the contribution of their MPs of the past was the sole reason for the development of the district. The leaders cited construction of New Mangalore Port, Mangalore International Airport, KREC since rechristened NITK, MRPL and the network of highways criss-crossing the district as result of the vision of Congress MPs.

The occasion was the release of the Congress’ manifesto for Dakshina Kannada district on behalf of Mithun M Rai, the coalition candidate, at the DCC office on Sunday. Releasing the manifesto, former minister and chairman of the joint coordination committee

B Ramanath Rai

said the BJP that invokes names of U Srinivas Mallya should not forget that he was a Congress MP. “Dakshina Kannada constituency has developed due to Mallya’s vision though he was Lok Sabha member from Udupi,” he said.

On the fine print contained in the district manifesto, Rai said this was not a ‘jumla’ but a “realistic” one that would address the various development needs of Dakshina Kannada constituency. This manifesto along with the national manifesto that focuses on NYAY espoused by AICC chief Rahul Gandhi will be a game changer and the ‘enlightened electorate’ of Dakshina Kannada district will be wise enough to see the benefit of backing a party that has delivered for the district.

K E Radhakrishna, vice-president, KPCC, said the recent interview of local RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat to TOI underscored the need for Saffron chauvinistic organisations to back Nalin with only the intention of finally backing Modi. This realistic assessment of Nalin by Bhat and the unfinished flyover at Pumpwell will be the only legacy that Nalin will leave behind for the district and the electorate will vote for a change and a youth representative, he said.

Training his guns on BJP chief Amit Shah, he said the Modi-Shah duo are the best example of hypocritical leaders who do nothing more than serve their own self-interest. “Modi in choosing a monologue—‘Man Ki Baat’—to talk to his constituents, is actually speaking to nobody,” he said.


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