The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing attack on Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah and state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan for doing “photo shoots and splurging in VVIP planes at the cost of taxpayer money” when their party is asking for donations and the state facing a drought-like situation.
Karnataka Congress minister BZ Zameer Khan posted a video of himself along with CM Siddaramaiah on board a private jet posing at different spots inside the aircraft.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted a video message on X, formerly Twitter, to tear into Congress party and said, “On the one hand Karnataka is reeling under the drought and the Chief Minister of the state is asking the Centre for drought relief fund… We see the ministers of the Karnataka government doing photo shoots and splurging in VVIP planes and jet planes at the cost of taxpayer money along with the chief minister.”
“This is obscene, shameful, and it only shows that Congress’ mindset is to use any state it gets power in as an ATM. They did that in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Now it has turned to Karnataka and Telangana,” Poonawalla said.
“ATM is the right word for the state governments that become captive of Congress party,” he added.
For Congress
Karnataka is just an ATM
VVIP culture of Congress😡😡😡😡 https://t.co/sWtcutZ3Nl pic.twitter.com/yxPyTJfhgb
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) December 22, 2023
'Congress' loot must continue'
Another BJP leader, Amit Malviya also attacked Congress for the party's crowdfunding campaign, and said Karanataka ministers had ‘happy moments’ traveling together to Delhi, to seek funds for drought relief.
Sharing the video on X of Karnataka Congress ministers photoshoot in a private jet, Malviya said, "On the one hand, Congress is pretending to crowdfund and didn’t even serve samosas in I.N.D.I Alliance meeting, on the other, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cabinet Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Affairs in Karnataka Govt, is flaunting his pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private jet. They apparently had ‘happy moments’ traveling together to Delhi, to seek funds for drought relief."
"Irony died a million times. Karnataka is reeling under mis-governance but Congress’s loot must continue," Malviya added.
On the one hand, Congress is pretending to crowdfund and didn’t even serve samosas in I.N.D.I Alliance meeting, on the other, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cabinet Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Affairs in Karnataka Govt, is flaunting his pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private… pic.twitter.com/SkrLB5OdjI
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 22, 2023
Siddaramaiah requests Centre for early release of drought relief
On Tuesday Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the next day he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and requested for early release of the drought relief to the state.
The state government has also flagged with the central ministers to consider the current data of farmers population while approving the drought relief.
Congress seeks donation
Meanwhile, India's grand old party, Congress, is completing 138 years of its foundation on 28 December this year. It has recently launched the crowdfunding campaign 'Donate for Desh' ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The campaign aims at "empowering the party to create an India rich in equal resource distribution and opportunities".
Speaking about the campaign, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said this is the first time that the grand old party is asking people for donations and cited Mahatma Gandhi, who also took donations from the public during the freedom struggle.
"It's the first time that Congress is asking people for donations for the nation... If you work only by depending on the rich people, then you have to follow their policies. Mahatma Gandhi also took donations from the public during the freedom struggle," Kharge added.
With inputs from agencies