Sushma Swaraj takes jibe at Cong-JDS govt in Karnataka

Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, on Sunday took a jibe at the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) government in Karnataka, saying that a coalition cannot run a government "in haste" with no vision.

"See the 'gathbandhan' (alliance) government in Karnataka. Congress keeps on pulling its rivals. After so many difficulties, they stitched an alliance with a party (JDS) that won 37 seats. Here, you see the Chief Minister (HD Kumaraswamy). He keeps on crying," Swaraj said at a gathering here.

"You cannot run a coalition government in haste. Especially, when you do not have a vision on development and prosperity," she added.

Swaraj urged the people to vote for BJP in massive numbers for ensuring a stable and majority government at the Centre.

"I believe that you all should vote for a party who can keep the country safe and ensure that development does not stop. I urge you all to vote for BJP in huge numbers and press the button of the lotus symbol (BJP's election symbol) so that we can continue our agenda of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' (together with all, development for all)," she said.

Asserting that her government took national security as a priority, Swaraj said, "I want to assure you all that the country is safe in the hands of Narendra Modi. People want to see him as the Prime Minister once again."

The External Affairs Minister lauded the BJP for taking several initiatives for putting India on track to become a developed nation.

"The way development has progressed in the last five years, it cannot be gauged. You will be surprised to scale how development took place on a large scale. Under Swachh Bharat, it was 40 per cent sanitation before 2014. After Modi came to power, it jumped to 98 per cent. This is because 10 crore toilets were built during the last five years," Swaraj remarked.

"We have provided free gas connections to 13 crore people. 34 crore people now have their bank accounts which are unbelievable since it was done in a short span of time. The development which could not take place in 55 years, Modi ji did it in just five years," she said while accusing the Congress of not focusing on development as a priority.

Out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, 14 constituencies went to polls during the second phase of general elections on April 18.

The remaining 14 seats will go to polls in the third phase on April 23. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.