10-Point Congress Manifesto Focuses On Jobs, Tourism In Coastal Karnataka

The Congress has released a 10-point manifesto for the coastal region ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka which focuses on creation of jobs, attracting investments, development of tourism and creating harmony in society.

The charter was announced by Opposition Leader in the Legislative Council B K Hariprasad at the Prajadhwani Yatra event held at Karavali Utsava ground in Mangaluru on Sunday night.

Mr Hariprasad said a Karavali Development Authority with a budget of Rs 2,500 crore will be constituted for the development of the region.

Assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled by May this year.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who spoke at the function, said the Congress will not only make promises but it also knows how to deliver them with adequate release of funds.

He alleged that the BJP only tries to hypnotise people with lies and they are keen on dividing people based on religion and caste. The state government is steeped in corruption and that is why contractors named it as a 40 per cent commission government, he charged.

KPCC president D K Shivakumar said the BJP could not fulfil the promises made in the last elections. The Congress aims to bring a change in governance and are confident that the party will attain majority in the coming elections, he added.

AICC general secretary Randeep Sujrewala, who also spoke, alleged that BJP has turned the coastal belt into a factory of communalism and it is time to give an apt answer to their false deeds.

"When we speak about price rise, the BJP speaks about Hindus and Muslims. We try to connect people but they disconnect people," Mr Surjewala said.

Manifesto committee president G Parameshwara expressed confidence that the Congress will come back to power in the state. The party brought a separate poll manifesto for the coastal region to bring about change, he said.

Senior leader and former Union Minister Janardhan Poojary, former MLAs Mohiyuddin Bava, Ramanath Rai, Abhayachandra jain, Vinay Kumar Sorake and several Congress leaders from the twin coastal districts were present at the event.

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