Congress reduced to 99 seats in Lok Sabha due to deception, says Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra
Bengaluru: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra said on Saturday that the Congress, which had once won as many as 415 Lok Sabha seats, has now been reduced to just 99 seats in the 2024 general elections.
Speaking in the State Assembly, Vijayendra added there was a need to introspect on why the Congress had reached such a pitiable state.
Drawing an analogy from the Hindu epic Ramayana, he said that just as demon king Ravana abducted Goddess Sita and took her to Sri Lanka, the Congress had “appropriated” the name of Mahatma Gandhi for its own political use.
“This fake Congress party has even deceived Mahatma Gandhi,” Vijayendra alleged.
He also said that the Congress had promised to eradicate poverty with slogans like ‘Garibi Hatao’, but instead had “deceived the poor people of the country”.
“As a result, the Congress party has reached such a humiliating position both at the national and state levels,” Vijayendra added.
The State BJP President said that the Congress had 364 MPs in 1961 and as many as 415 MPs in Parliament in 1984, adding that the grand old party should shed light on how it had declined so drastically.
Referring to debates over the GST, Vijayendra said there had been extensive discussions on how much tax revenue Karnataka contributes to the Centre.
“Listening to the ruling Congress-led Karnataka government’s statements, it appears as though the Central government has indulged in massive corruption using the state’s tax money and that there has been no development at either the national or state level. This argument is meaningless,” he added.
He recalled that when the Congress was in power earlier, discussions across the country revolved around scams such as the 2G Spectrum scam, Coal scam and Commonwealth Games scam.
“There was no discussion on development. Only corruption dominated public discourse,” he said.
However, Vijayendra said that after the BJP came to power, particularly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, the situation had changed.
“From 2014 to 2025, the Congress has not been able to make even a single allegation of corruption against the Narendra Modi-led Union government. People are discussing the corruption-free governance provided by PM Modi,” he added.
He noted that today the focus is on a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and India’s development trajectory.
“While discussions are being held on issues such as alleged injustice to states under GST, no one is talking about the fundamental transformation in governance that has taken place since 2014,” he said.
Vijayendra said the Centre has been investing GST revenues worth lakhs of crores in capital expenditure, with priority given to infrastructure, national security and job creation.
“The NDA government under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership is working towards building a strong India with the nation-first approach,” he added.
He said that the Defence budget has increased several-fold and highway construction is progressing at a rapid pace.
“Laws have been enacted to promote employment generation, and as a result of Central government’s policies, nearly two lakh startups have emerged across the country. This has led to the creation of 16.6 lakh direct jobs by 2024,” Vijayendra added.
On drinking water supply, he said that despite ruling the country for 60 years after independence, the Congress had ensured access to drinking water for only 17 per cent of the rural population.
“Due to the sincere efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drinking water has now been provided to 74 per cent of the rural population. Around 12 crore toilets have also been constructed under the leadership of the Central government,” he added.
He also stressed the importance of national security, saying that earlier governments had neglected the Northeastern states.
“Over the last 10 years, the Narendra Modi-led Union government has allocated Rs 6.5 lakh crore to the region for highways and infrastructure development,” he said.
Vijayendra claimed that Naxalism is no longer a major issue in the country.
“Before 2014, newspapers regularly reported Maoist attacks and the killing of police personnel and civilians. Maoist violence was severe in several states. Over the past decade, due to the policies of the Narendra Modi-led Union government, improved infrastructure and increased employment opportunities, the Maoist problem has largely been eliminated,” he saidkhz