'With only communal agenda, BJP lost voters’ trust'

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said that the NDA government had lost the confidence of voters.

Kumaraswamy, who inaugurated the conference of fisherwomen organised at Nehru Maidan in Kundapur on Wednesday, ridiculed the BJP candidate for Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency, Shobha Karandlaje and declared that she had done nothing for the welfare of fishermen. “It is sad that, in spite of having a BJP government at the Centre, she did nothing when seven fishermen went missing,” he said.

The chief minister said that the rule which had fixed the waiting period for up to seven years in order to declare a missing person as dead had been revised. “As an interim step, a compensation of Rs one lakh has been given to families of the missing fishermen. The government has hopes to bring the fishermen back safe. The government is in constant touch with the defence minister and the Maharashtra government,” he added.

‘Voters should be aware’

The chief minister urged voters, in particularly the youth, to be aware of the fact that they are being hoodwinked in the name of caste and religion.

He also urged voters to reject BJP which only has a communal agenda.

“The prime minister is playing with the lives of soldiers. He acts as if none of the previous prime ministers was concerned about the welfare of the armed forces,” Kumaraswamy criticised.

He stressed that when the Modi-led government had announced a waiver of Rs 45,000 crore farm loan, it should also waive the loan of fishermen, which is minimal.

Kumaraswamy appealed to voters to bless the coalition candidate and said the candidates supported by the coalition would offer transparent governance. He expressed his inability to fulfil the demands of fishermen community due to the model poll code of conduct.

“But I will come out with a package redressing the demands after the end of Lok Sabha polls,” he said and added that Rs 82 crore was released for the beneficiaries facing many problems including diseases.

'Coalition will win 20 to 22 seats'

Kumaraswamy predicted that the coalition government will win 20 to 22 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

He told reporters at the sidelines of the conference that the voters in Karnataka will reject Narendra Modi because his contribution to the state is zero. “The BJP is destabilising the coalition government by luring MLAs with an offer of Rs 20 to 30 crore,” said Kumaraswamy.

He also predicted that his son Nikhil would win with a huge majority. “I am open-minded and was willing to take everyone along with him without caste, religion prejudices,” he stressed.