‘Cong implementing guarantees in Karnataka’: KC Venugopal

Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on Friday asserted the party’s government in Karnataka was fulfilling promises made by it, amid a row over Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s advice to the party’s state units to prepare only ‘fiscally doable’ guarantees.
“We are implementing everything in Karnataka in a greater way. Anybody can check. We are implementing our promises, which is a clear model of Congress’ promises. We are implementing in Karnataka whatever we promised. Anybody can examine it,” Venugopal said.
In May last year, the Congress, armed with its ‘five guarantees,’ wrested the southern state from the BJP. In December, the grand old party ousted the BRS government in neighbouring Telangana, with the guarantees playing a prominent role in the victory there too.
In December 2022, the grand old party had taken Himachal Pradesh from the BJP by making similar assurances.
However, critics have repeatedly alleged these guarantees are essentially ‘freebies’ and have created a financial crisis in the three states.
Meanwhile, reacting to prime minister Narendra Modi’s tweets over Kharge’s ‘admission’ on the Congress’ poll guarantees, Venugopal, its general secretary, claimed it was the Centre that had failed to meet its promises.
“What PM said is wrong…basically, the Government of India is not delivering what they promised. They are blaming us for non-delivery. But on our part, we are delivering,” the Lok Sabha member from Kerala’s Alappuzha stated.
The current row erupted after Wednesday’s suggestion by Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar’s regarding a potential ‘review’ of the Shakti scheme – one of the five guarantees – for free bus travel for women. While the government clarified the scheme was not being scrapped, the statement prompted Kharge’s advice to Congress state units on poll guarantees.
(With ANI inputs)