"Congress Wants To Gain Power Through Fake Guarantees": Union Minister

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday claimed the Congress comes to power by making fake guarantees and turning states into the "ATM of one family".

Addressing a press conference here in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, he alleged the Congress has nothing to do with public welfare but wants to get power through fake guarantees and by misleading people, as evident in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.

"Everyone knows about the Congress and corruption as witnessed during the UPA government. Within four months of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rs 109 crore were found in the house of a contractor. Guarantees were not fulfilled but they started fulfilling their one motive - to make Karnataka an ATM," Mr Chandrasekhar said.

"We had clearly said before the election that if the Congress is elected, Karnataka will become the ATM of one family and it was proved true," he claimed.

The BJP leader said he belongs to Karnataka, where the Congress had given five major guarantees.

"After the elections, the Congress changed the criteria for beneficiaries of these guarantees," he claimed.

The minister said the Congress promised Rs 3,000 per month to unemployed youth in Karnataka.

After winning the elections, the criteria were changed and the government there said only the youth who cleared graduation in the previous years will get its benefit, he said.

The Congress had given a guarantee to provide a financial aid of Rs 2,000 per month to women in the southern state. After winning the elections, its government said all women will not get this benefit, he claimed.

The Union minister further said the Congress gave a guarantee to provide 2,000 units of free electricity to every household. But, power tariffs have gone up and farmers, who used to get 24-hour electricity, are facing problems in that state, he said.

The Congress promised 10 kg of rice to every member of the BPL (below poverty line) households but they changed the criteria and didn't fulfil the guarantee, he claimed.

Further hitting out at the Congress, Chandrasekhar said it promised free bus travel passes to women in Karnataka, but later said it will be meant for a specific category and not for all.

People commuting for work are not getting seats in the buses and it also damaged the auto-rickshaw industry, he said.

Development in Karnataka came to a standstill and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said there is no money for development, Chandrasekhar further claimed. Elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly are scheduled on November 17.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)