Sonia Gandhi thanks Karnataka for historic mandate, says politics of divisiveness rejected

New Delhi: Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday thanked the people of Karnataka for giving the party a historic mandate and said that it is rejection of politics of divisiveness and corruption.

She also said that the party will stand by the commitment it made to the people of the state and was also proud that the first cabinet approved the implementation of five guarantees it made to people.

In a video message, Sonia Gandhi said, "From my heart I want to thank the people of Karnataka for giving the Congress party such a historic mandate. This mandate is for a pro-people government. This mandate is for pro-poor government."

Taking a swipe at the BJP, she said, "It is a rejection of politics of divisiveness and rejection of corruption."

She also assured the people of the state that the Congeess government which has been sworn in today will stand by its commitment to implement the promises it made to them.

"I am proud that the first cabinet meeting has already approved the immediate implementation of our five guarantees. The Congress party remains committed to the prosperity, peace and progress of Karnataka. Jai Hind," she added.

The five guarantees, that Congress had promised during the Karnataka elections, include 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi) and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

Her remarks came after Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the new chief minister of Karnataka with DK Shivakumar as his deputy.

Besides the two, eight more ministers took oath on Saturday during the swearing-in ceremony held in Bengaluru`s Kanteerava Stadium.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yachury, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, NCP veteran Sharad Pawar are among the prominent politicians who attended the ceremony.

Tamil superstar Kamal Hassan, Kannada super star Shivaraj Kumar, popular actor Duniya Vijay, actress-turned-politician Ramya, actress Nishvika Naidu, senior actress-turned-politician Umashree and film director, producer V. Rajendra Singh Babu were also present at the event.

The Congress won 135 seats in the Assembly polls, while the BJP was reduced to 66 and the JD-S could grab only 19 seats in the May-10 elections in the state.