Says Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman in city

Mysuru: Claiming that there is a strong Narendra Modi wave in India, Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Ministry of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all the three Assembly seats in Mysuru in the State Assembly that is scheduled to be held in early 2018.

“The BJP will trounce Congress and come back to power in Karnataka as the Congress government has miserably failed to protect the interests of the people and has unleashed many unpopular schemes and programmes,” she told reporters, addressing a press conference held at Hotel President this noon.

Nirmala Sitharaman was in the city to be a part of the BJP’s “Vistharak” programme that seeks to establish a connect with the people. “I have visited many houses in Ward 31 in Gokulam and the programmes launched by PM Narendra Modi, including the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) received good appreciation,” she said.

“We are already in poll mode and people will choose a government that is pro-active and people-friendly,” Nirmala Sitharaman said.

“In Mysuru, all the three constituencies (Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja and Chamaraja) are held by the Congress. In 2018, they will be wrested by BJP candidates,” she claimed.

Alleging that after Siddharamaiah-led Congress government came to power in 2013, there has been a systematic killing of RSS and BJP workers, she gave the example of the murder of RSS Raju in Mysuru and the recent murder of Sharath Madiwal in Mangaluru.

Regarding GST implementation and the opposition of some States, the Union Minister said that the GST was implemented after a series of meetings with the Finance Ministers and Secretaries of States and many changes were made as per their feedback. “The opposition to GST is unnecessary and has no meaning,” she said.

Former Minister Suresh Kumar, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, City BJP President Dr. B.H. Manjunath, Corporators Girish Prasad, Snake Shyam and others were present. The Minister later launched a blood donation camp at Software Paradigms India.

Nirmala Seetharam will have a closed-door meeting with party workers in the afternoon and she will participate in a seminar on GST at Hotel Pai Vista in the evening. She will return to Bengaluru later today.

No gifts please, says Minister: After declining the expensive gift offered by Corporator Girish Prasad, the Minister, who  went to  Software Paradigms India company where  a blood donation campaign was launched, politely declined the gift box offered by the company officials.  

Later, one BJP worker came near the Minister with his costly mobile phone requesting her for a selfie. “Please do your work for the party first and selfies can be taken later,” was her reply.