Attacking BJP for its "communal" politics, Congress today asked its partymen in Karnataka to start preparing themselves for the 2018 assembly elections and go before the people with "confidence".
"Congress ideology is to bind everyone together. The biggest problem that the country is facing today is the way in which BJP is playing its politics by creating differences between Hindus and Muslims," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh charged.
"BJP, MIM in Telangana and some Muslimparties in Kerala are trying to create gap between Hindus andMuslims," he said.
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Congress had never supported any communal forceswhether they be Hindus or Muslims, he said, adding it had always been fighting against such forces.
Stating that Karnataka was also facing similar issues, Singh said there were certain matters which were sensitive and attempts were being made to instigate them.
He was speaking at an event organised to felicitate Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chief G Parameshwara on completing six years in office and being the longest serving state unit President.
Addressing a large gathering of Congress leaders and workers here, Singh asked them to start preparations for 2018 Assembly elections.
Asking party activists to work towards associating good people who are away from politics, with the party, he said, "Weshould start concentrating towards 2018 Assembly polls. Weshould from now itself start going to the people and informthem about the good work done by us."
"We should mainly concentrate on those seats where BJP has been consistently winning," he said.
Speaking at the event, Chief Minister Siddaramaiahurged the party workers to take this message to the peoplethat the Congress government in the state has "walked the talk".
"In three years, we have fulfilled about 70 to80 per cent of the promises we made to the people in ourmanifesto. By the end of our tenure we are confident that wewill fulfill 100 per cent of them."
Attacking BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he alleged that whatever promises they had made before the parliamentary elections, had not been fulfilled and that he did not have any hope that they (BJP) willbe able to meet them.
He also accused the Central government of not giving fundsadequately and regularly to implement any Centrally sponsoredschemes, especially MNREGA.
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Referring to BJP's claim that it would win more than 150
seats outof total 225 in the 2018 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah said the party had earlier said it will remain in power for more than ten years, but during the last Assembly election they could garner only 40 seats.
In a direct attack against BJP state Chief B SYeddyurappa, who was acquitted by the special CBI court in a corruption case yesterday, he said, "He (Yeddyurappa) was acquitted for want of evidence...; acquittal for want of evidence does not mean that the accused are innocent, it does not mean that Yeddyurappa is innocent."
"...Is it not true that Yeddyurappa had indulged in corruption? People have not forgotten the corruption that theyhad indulged in. Public court is important, and there is noquestion of getting acquitted there...People won't forgive you(Yeddyurappa)," he said.
Stating that there was no question of Yeddyurappa orBJP coming back to power, Siddaramaiah asked partymen to takea pledge that "communal forces like BJP which had indulged in corruption, and is against social justice and minorities should not be allowed to come to power.
"The responsibility is on us. In spite of all their attempts, in the 2018 elections, Congress will 100 per cent come back to power with the blessings of the people," he asserted.
Siddarmaiah also claimed that his was a corruption free government without even a single serious corruption charge against any of his ministers or the government.
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge said all should work to bring Congress back to power again.
BJP had already started preparations for elections by conducting surveys as done by Modi during the parliamentary polls, he said, adding Congress would have to carefully start working together.
