Congress MLA from K'taka Raju Kage Threatens Voters, Warns of Electricity Cuts if... | EXCLUSIVE

Belagavi:  After the voting in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 concluded, Congress MLA from Belagavi in Karnataka Bharamgouda Alagouda Kage aka Raju Kage, in a video released exclusively by Republic Kannada on Tuesday, could be heard openly threatening the public. 

Kage, in the video, could be heard warning the public during a campaign that if Congress got fewer votes this time from the region, the electricity supply would be cut off. 

The Congress also referred to assembly elections of last year and added that since the voting wasn’t as per the expectation of the Congress party, he was providing ‘lesser electricity to the people.' 

He ended his speech by saying if the lead is less or if there’s a threat in the next phase of polls for Congress, power cuts will be done more extensively by the state government. 

'Threat master,' says BJP

Criticising the Congress for threatening the voters, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala the party was not ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan‘ as claimed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi but was actually ‘Dhamki Ke Bhaijan‘ (threat master).

Ironically, the Congress government in Karnataka last year had cleared to roll out five 'guarantees' it had made before the Assembly elections. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had then assured, "The free electricity scheme (Gruha Jyoti)  will depend on the yearly consumption at the household level. A monthly average will be calculated, an extra 10 per cent added to it, and one won't have to pay the power bill if the final figure is below 200 units. This will start from July 1. “200 units of electricity will be free. Consumers who haven't paid their bills till July will have to pay.”

Kage threatened to quit

Once disgruntled, Kage had threatened to resign over lack of funds for development work in his constituency last year. He had accused the Congress government of not addressing his concerns, including the delay in releasing funds for irrigation projects and the non-release of area development funds. 

Senior party leaders had intervened and promised to address his grievances and convinced him to reconsider his decision back then.

BJP accuses Cong of inaction in Prajwal Revanna sex scandal case 

Union Minister Anurag Thakur, on Tuesday, questioned the timing of the sex scandal videos that have been circulating allegedly involving JD(S) MP from Hassan Prajwal Revanna.

Accusing the Congress of inaction, Thakur said it was clear that the Congress in the state had prior knowledge about the videos. He also questioned Congress as to why it allowed Revanna to flee the country. 

Revanna, the now suspended MP, is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, son of the legislator and former Minister for the Public Works Department of Karnataka HD Revanna. Besides, he's the nephew of former Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy.