Bangalore: Toeing the Centre’s line, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah annÂounced on Saturday that the state government would amend the Karnataka Lokayukta Act to incorporate clauses of the Lokpal Bill recently passed by Parliament.
Declaring that the party was committed to providing a corruption-free government, he dared BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi and its other leaders to prove their commitment to it as well by implementing the Lokpal Act before February 28 in their respective states.
The Chief Minister, who was addressing the Congress party’s 129th Foundation Day celebrations organised by the Karantaka Pradesh Congress Committee here, claimed the BJP did not really care about people’s welfare.
“The Congress party has always favoured corruption-frÂee governance, but the BJP adopts double standards whenever asked to commit to it. By not appointing a Lokayukta in Gujarat for more than a decade, they have proved they are not for giving corruption-free governance,” he charged.
Calling the BJP a faceless paÂrty, Siddaramiah accused it of trying to hijack the CoÂngress party’s stalwart and India’s iron man, Saradar PaÂtel and portray him as one of its own.
“Former deputy prime minister, L.K. Advani was Loh Purush for them until recently and now all of a sudden they are in love with Congress leÂader Patel. If Patel was alive tÂoÂday, he would have definitely filed a defamation suit against the BJP for using his name. They are a faceless party even in State and so are eagerly waiting for former chief minister, B. S. Yeddyruappa’s reÂturn to the party,” he maintaÂined.
Emphasising that the CÂonÂgrÂess party was committed to creating a hunger-free nation, Siddaramiah asÂsured that the state governmeÂnt would take necessary steps to reduce inflation.
