KOLAR, 6 APRIL

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday asked people to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps down after Lok Sabha polls and make Congress leader Rahul Gandhi the PM of the country.

Claiming that Congress always walks the talk and fulfils the promises made to the people, unlike BJP, he said the party will fulfil the guarantees announced in its manifesto after coming to power like it did in Karnataka under his leadership.

"Congress on Friday announced guarantees, we will fulfil them too. Congress party always walks the talk, unlike the BJP....you should understand that and try to bring Congress to power at the centre by removing the BJP government. I humbly request you to make Narendra Modi step down and make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister," Siddaramaiah said.

He was speaking after a roadshow here in favour of the Congress candidate from Kolar KV Gowtham after offering prayers at Kurudumale Ganapathi Temple and also at the famous mosque at Mulbagal.

Calling BJP "a factory of lies" and asking people not to fall for lies created by BJP out of fear of defeat, the Chief Minister said the five guarantee schemes implemented by his government have a five-year warranty. "We honoured your vote by keeping our word," he said.

He said though the State government was willing to purchase rice from Food Corporation of India by paying the cost, the rice was not made available for implementing the guarantee. The State government has spent around Rs 36,000 crore for the guarantee schemes and over Rs 56,000 crore would be spent in the next fiscal for implementation of these schemes, the Chief Minister said. 

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar and other leaders were present on the occasion.