 Thank you, Sujeevala ji. I'd like to welcome all the Congress senior leaders, Siddhar Maya ji, Parmeshwar ji, Venugopal ji, Kharge ji and all my friendly journalists. I'm looking forward to your questions. I'd just like to say a few words. I've been now traveling around Karnataka for a couple of months. And it's been an honor for me to travel in this state. I have learned a tremendous amount from the people of this state, from their spirit, from their perspective. The Congress party has fought a very good campaign. We've all stood together. Our party is completely united and we fought the campaign on the fundamental issues. And I think we've put down in front of Karnataka a vision for Karnataka. Our opposition has restricted itself to making personal attacks on the Chief Minister, on Kharge ji, on myself and other leaders. They haven't really put down what they want to do for Karnataka. What the Congress wants to do for Karnataka is very very clear. We made certain commitments and we've delivered on those commitments and now we have prepared a manifesto that is truly the voice of the people of Karnataka. Moyli ji prepared that manifesto. He went all around the state, had meetings with thousands and thousands of people and we pulled out the essence of what the people of Karnataka are looking for in the next five years. In contrast, the BJP built their manifesto in a closed room three or four days, copied half of what we said. So there is a lack of seriousness among them about what they want to deliver for this state. And that I think is a huge difference. I'm very confident that the Congress party is going to win the election here. Thank you. Progress with Congress has been the theme of this election. We will, Congress president and other leaders will now take questions. I would request that if you raise your hands, some friends have already done. I'll keep noting down and I'll keep coming to you. I'll send the mic to you. Also, when you start your question, if you can also identify yourself, it will be fine. We'll start with Shri Raman in the first row. Can you please pass on the mic? There is a topic that you have been talking about during the election. Yesterday, we also saw that you raised your hand. The head office of the Indian Aeronautics Limited is in Bangalore. The NDA government is saying that our deal with Rafale was better than UPA. No, their deal was better than UPA. But for whom? For their friends, not for India. I also believe that the deal with Rafale was better than the deal with BJP leaders, Narendra Modi and their friends who are in debt for 45,000 crores. But for the Indian Aeronautics Limited, they have given Rs. 750 crores to the Indian Aeronautics Limited. So I agree with them that the deal is better. But for them, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, this is the choice of Karnataka. And all these things are things to be distracted. There is one question here. On one side are the leaders of the Congress Party, Mr. Siddhar Mahi. Look at his face. On the other side, Mr. Yadur Appaji. On the other side, Mr. Reddy Brothers. Reddy Brothers has stolen Rs. 35,000 crores from the people of Karnataka. There is no comparison. On the one hand, there is an honest person who works for the country, who works for the heart. On the other hand, he is sitting in the jail. He is out of jail. Look, I will also speak in English because it is a Karnataka election. Would you like to ask me in English? Do you think Rafale issue is a very big issue for Karnataka elections? No, you have changed the wording. I like to be precise. The wording you used was that the Prime Minister said it was a very good deal. And I agree with him. It was a very good deal. But it was a very good deal for the Prime Minister and his businessman friend, who is 45,000 crores in debt, who has never built an airplane in his life. They have taken away jobs from HL, the youngsters of Karnataka. Thousands and thousands of technical jobs of the highest value addition could have come to Karnataka. But Mr. Narendra Modi chose to give that deal to his friend. He didn't follow the procedure. He didn't ask the Cabinet Committee on security. He paid 1500 crores for a plane that the UP had worked out at 700 crores. So of course it's a great deal. It's a great, absolutely smashing deal for Mr. Narendra Modi. And you can see the effects of it in the amount of money they're throwing around in this state. And regarding the Prime Minister question, Mr. Narendra Modi likes to distract people. This election is nothing to do with Rahul Gandhi. This election is to do with the future of Karnataka. Mr. Narendra Modi has nothing to say about the future of Karnataka. So he likes to distract it. So I'm not going to engage in that distraction. Thank you. Shri Arun Singh. Mr. Rahul, I'm Arun Singh from New Zett in India, Delhi. I have a question. Will you ask in English? No, in Hindi. We have a Hindi channel. Sir, this morning the Prime Minister told himself that he doesn't want to take anyone from the Congress Party. They only take their issues. And the biggest political plan... Congress Party doesn't want to take anything from the Dalits. They only take their issues. So they take their issues. Our question is, why aren't the Prime Ministers taking their issues? This time the Prime Ministers are talking to us. We have said that the Dalits are being beaten, beaten, beaten, and suppressed. Rohit Vemula says that he wants to learn. He is beaten, beaten, and suppressed. There is no word from Mr. Narendra Modi. There is no word from Mr. Narendra Modi. There is no word from Mr. Narendra Modi. So we will take the issues of the Dalits. That's our job. Sir, you attack the 2 crore jobs. I like to say that in English also. Because I've got a Karnataka audience and I want to say that. Would you like to ask me a question in English? Prime Minister today while addressing SCST people through NAMUF, he said accused Congress, they have nothing to do with Dalits. And they are only garnering their votes. And also here is that your party is raising issues related to Dalits for Karnataka election. Now you have changed the question again. The question you asked me was Mr. Narendra Modi said that the Congress party is only raising Dalit issues. And I said absolutely that is our job. We will defend the rights of Dalits. We will raise Dalit issues. The question is when Mr. Rohit Vemula is killed, Mr. Narendra Modi doesn't say a word. When people in UNA are beaten, humiliated, our Prime Minister doesn't say a word. Our Prime Minister gives as much money in the whole of India to Dalits and Tribals. Half of that money Karnataka government gives. Let me rephrase that. Karnataka government gives half of the money that the entire Indian government gives for Dalits and Tribals. This is something for the Indian government to be ashamed of. Thank you. Sir, Shri Nagarajan was asking. Sir, Nagarajan from India today here. Here, here. This way, sir. Okay, I can't see. Sir, you have been speaking about in every rally about how it's better Bajau and BJP MLA say Bajau. And PM Modi speaks about how it should not be politicized. You also held a candle march against UNA and Kathua rape cases. Don't you think that you and your party are politicizing atrocities? Excuse me, atrocities against women, rapes of women is a political issue. Who says it's not a political issue? It's absolutely a national issue. Are you telling me that if India's women are raped, politicians shouldn't discuss it? It's absolutely a political issue. It is an issue that is fundamental. The treatment of our women, the treatment of 50% of our women is absolutely an issue. And Mr. Modi likes to discuss things like, you know, sea planes, which is a political issue, I guess. Bullet trains. But fundamental issues in Karnataka, he doesn't like to discuss. What are the issues in Karnataka? They're pretty simple. Helping the farmers, we have given 8,000 crore rupees to the farmers. How much money has the Prime Minister given? How much money has the Prime Minister given to the farmers of India and the farmers of Karnataka? I'd like to ask that question. He gives 250,000 crores to the richest 15 people in this country. I want to ask, if the government of Karnataka has given 8,000 crores, how many rupees has the Prime Minister of India given? Zero. Zero. He has not given one rupee in debt waiver to the farmers of India. This is something to be ashamed of. That is another political issue. But Mr. Narendra Modi doesn't like to raise it. Very fundamental political issue. Our Prime Minister comes and says, he fights for corruption. Well, on his stage is Mr. Yadurappa, his Chief Ministerial Candidate, who has spent time in jail. Let me repeat that. Who has spent time in jail for corruption, for stealing from the people of Karnataka. On the other side, Reddy brothers, who have stolen as much money from Karnataka as the Congolese Party gave for Narega, 35,000 crores. People of Karnataka, the Reddy brothers have stolen 35,000 crores from you. They have stolen your money from your pockets and they have creased you. The Prime Minister needs to answer why, in none of his speeches, does he talk about the eight seats he has given to the Reddy brothers. Why he doesn't explain to the people of Karnataka, why the Central Bureau of Indiastigation has become the Central Bureau of Illegal Mining and is being used to protect these people. These are the issues. And by the way, women's atrocities is an issue across India and we will continue to raise it. Shri Bharath from Deccan Hill. If you can please pass on the mic. Ravi, he is on your right-hand side. Sir, as you raise hands, I will keep jotting down and we will take as many questions as possible. Hi Rahul. We have been following your campaign since February and you visited a number of temples, muds and places of religious worship. What was the message that you were trying to send out? And the related question is, you have also been quoting a lot of Baswanna. How do you respond to the allegation that the Congress government here divided the Lingayath community by according to religious minority status? So the first question, there are many, many different ways in which our people express themselves. And our people have multiple different beliefs. They have different religious beliefs. They have different linguistic beliefs. As a leader of a political party, it is my job to stand with them in their beliefs. So whoever invites me to whichever institution I will go to, I will go to because I respect their perspective. But I will not go to a single institution that is involved in dividing, spreading hatred, spreading anger and killing people. So that is my position on the religious institutions. Now, what's interesting is throughout the last 15 years, I have been visiting temples. I have been visiting mosques. I have been visiting Gurdwaras. I have been visiting pretty much every religious institution I come across. For some reason, the BJP doesn't like this. For some reason, the BJP gets very uncomfortable when I go to a temple. They've called you an election Hindu. Yeah. I don't think they understand the meaning of the term Hindu because the term Hindu is a perspective. It's a viewpoint and it is something that is in the heart, it is imbibed and it lives with you throughout. So that statement election Hindu is a demonstration of how they view their religion. I don't view my religion like that. What was the second question? There is a difference between helping a community express themselves, empowering a community and crushing a community. What the BJP is busy doing with the Dalits, with the tribals, with the minorities is crushing them, killing them and humiliating them and dividing the country. There is a big difference between the two. The Congress Party's perspective is we help people empower themselves. Thank you. Our senior journalist Shri Vijay Gurdwar, I think he was here on the right side. Mainly the Delhi... I'm from Bangalore. I have one question to you Rahul. The fact is, you know, we discussed a lot about national politics. In the international arena, when dealing with China especially, we saw that you had tweeted once appreciating the Prime Minister's stance when he was going to win. Can you hold the mic closer to you so I can hear you? On the Dokla Ham issue, you had wished him all support, but somehow we see that the Dokla Ham issue continues to be debated. I wish the Prime Minister's support because he is the leader of our country. I expected the Prime Minister in China to go as the leader of our country and stand right there and tell the Chinese and speak to them about Dokla Ham. The Prime Minister went to China after the Chinese have entered Dokla Ham and didn't mention a word about Dokla Ham. He didn't say a word. The Prime Minister had a conversation with the Chinese President with no agenda. Are you telling me there is no agenda? There is an agenda. It's called Dokla Ham. There is an agenda. It's called the Maldives. There is an agenda. It's called Nepal. Of course, there's an agenda. What does he mean by going to China and having a discussion without an agenda? The agenda is, we are surrounded on all sides. That's the agenda. It's pretty clear, but you guys don't like to raise that. I don't know why. You guys are uncomfortable. Are you not able to take it the way it should have been taken up? Absolutely not. Our foreign policy has been decimated. Our foreign policy has been completely decimated across the board. And it's because the Prime Minister views foreign policy as an individual exercise. He is under the impression that he can go and have a personal conversation with the President of China or the President of Nepal and everything will magically happen. There are huge forces involved in this and the Prime Minister needs to take into account the extremely talented people who are sitting in the foreign ministry. The Prime Minister needs to carry his own people with him. Are there any conversations going on with the Finance Minister, with the Defense Minister about this type of strategy? No. It's a one-man show. Since the mic was not coming to you, I would request that I will come to you. Of course, I know you so well. Certain disciplines, all of us will have to maintain and I assure you Congress President, Chief Minister and other leaders will take as many questions as possible. They are not like the current Prime Minister who doesn't address a PC. I am very passionate about this China issue. Let me tell you, in my view, the central challenge in front of our country today is our ability to give jobs to our youngsters. That's the central challenge. China is a competitor of ours. China is also a rising power. We are in an environment where we have to manage our foreign policy with extreme care. I am very passionate when I see fundamental blunders being made. Fundamental blunders. I saw a video recently of the Pakistani Republic Day Parade with Chinese troops marching in it. What does that tell you? I see complete change in the position of Russia with regards to India. I see the Russians supplying Pakistan with weapons which they've never done before. So there is a disaster that has been created on the foreign policy front. And frankly, it is very dangerous for this country. That is why you are hearing sort of slightly louder expression from my side. TV9, Shri Pramod. Hello, sir. This is Pramod from TV9. I have a question that you have conducted the cycle, Yatra and Kola are against the petrol price hike. And you have also accused the Modi government of policing the common man. And don't you think they are following the UPAS policy? And my another important question is what is your stand on Mahadai? On the one hand, government of Farnataka is trying to solve the issue, but Goa Congress is protesting against that. And BJP, still referring to Soinaji's comment, she has made during the election campaign that is favorable for Goa. So what is your stand on Mahadai issue and what is AICC stand? Can you clarify it? The petrol issue is very simple. The policy of the Congress party was to give benefits of the petroleum products of the price of petroleum to our people. During the Congress regime, the price of petrol was 140 dollars, crude oil was 140 dollars a barrel. Today that price is hovering around 70 dollars a barrel. Huge amount of money has been saved by the government of India. The government of India can choose who to give that money to. The Congress party spent that money in schemes like Narega, schemes like farm loan waiver, which were pro-people schemes. The BJP has simply taken that money, lakhs of crores and given it to their friends. So absolutely the policy is the same. But who you give the money to is completely different. There is massive amount of money that is coming. And that should be distributed. On the other issue, it is up to the Prime Minister to resolve that issue. Whatever resolution comes out, we support. That the issue should be resolved as soon as possible, fairly. Maya Sharma from NDTV. You've spoken about the personal tax being made by Prime Minister Modi. And there have been many, whether it's... You agree with that, that there have been many personal attacks. Do you like the tone of those attacks? As an individual, do you like the tone? Do you like to see your politics being reduced to that? It has been very interesting to see the level of debate and the level of comments being made by the Prime Minister. Both sides have been... Do you appreciate the nature of those comments? Both sides have made... If you are scared to say it, don't worry, I'll let you off. Both sides have of course been making personal attacks. But Prime Minister Modi has of course targeted you in many, many ways. Whether it's making fun of your response to a person here in Bangalore saying that if the Congress did get a majority, you would be ready to become Prime Minister. And also, although it's an old one, your Italian ancestry, whether saying that you could debate in your mother's language or mentioning your mother's maiden name when she came to campaign here in North Karnataka. How do you respond to this? Not just as Congress president, but as an individual, as a human being. Your question to me, I'm asking you. I can respond with the story. If you want me to respond with the story, I can respond with the story. Many years ago in this country, Buddha was sitting with his disciples. A person came and started abusing him, shouting at him, saying nasty things to him. And after about... Very abusive language, nasty stuff. And after about an hour or two, the person left. So Buddha's disciples said to Buddha, that what have you done? This man has come to you, he's abused you, why didn't you respond? And Buddha said, you see the thing is, he got me the gift of anger. I didn't want it. I didn't take it. After some time, he went away. So Mr. Modi has anger inside him. And he's got anger for everybody, not only for me. I am a lightning rod of that anger. I attract that anger because he sees a threat from me. But his anger is his problem. It's not my problem. My problem is how to help the people of this country. Thank you. Any response you'd like to give to that whole Italian origin, which is being used as a... My mother is Italian. My mother has also lived larger part of her life in India. She's more Indian than many, many Indian people I see. My mother has sacrificed for this country. My mother has suffered for this country. And it shows the quality of the Prime Minister when he makes these type of comments. It shows the quality of the man. And I'm happy to let him do so. If he enjoys himself, if he likes it, welcome. Have a nice day. Deepa, Deepa on the right side. Can you kindly pass on the microphone? Yes sir, I have noted that. I'll spell it for you. P-A-N-I-C. Panic. They are panicked because because now they are noticing and realizing that the Congress Party is doing things differently. The Congress Party showed them what it was capable of in Gujarat. And now the Congress Party has clearly demonstrated to them what it is capable of in Karnataka. I'm happy that as many of the ministers that would like to come can come. Frankly, it helps us because this is a this is a fight between the spirit of Karnataka and the RSS. We are very clear. We don't want a barrage of leaders from outside of this state to come here We are depending on our extremely solid leadership from Karnataka and we are raising the voice of the people of Karnataka. You see what is actually happening here and this is something my friends in Karnataka you have to realize. The RSS is trying to take over your state. The RSS is attacking Vassavana. It is attacking your language. It is attacking your culture. It is attacking your wonderful food that you fed me so much that I have put on a little bit of weight. It is trying to decimate your way of life and we will not allow it to do so. We are standing with you and we will fight them off and we will make sure that the voice of Vassavana and the idea and the spirit of this state lives large. Thank you. Ma'am, I'll have to take one-one question. There are too many friends waiting. What's your question? I have already answered that question. I have already answered the question. The Prime Minister wants to distract. He wants to distract. The Prime Minister wants to distract the people of Karnataka. He talks about personal attack. He talks about all sorts of different things except what people of Karnataka actually want to hear which is what are they going to do for their development? What are they going to do for the farmers? What are they going to do for the youngsters? The 2 crore youngsters that the Prime Minister promised jobs to. They are standing in lines in the rest of the country jobless. In Karnataka we have the record of the largest number of jobs in the country. This state produced the largest number of jobs in this country. Thanks to whom? Thanks to the Congress Party and the spirit of Vassavana. We are not going to get distracted by the Prime Minister. I have now learned to deal with him. When he realizes that he is coming into a space where there is no escape then he distracts and he creates anger. We are not going to let him distract and we are not going to let him create anger. We are going to defeat the BJP here. Nahidaji here on this side can you please pass on the mic? Yesterday Modi said that fear of losing elections there is a possibility of the Congress will rig the elections. A man says what is inside his heart all the time. Whenever there is something you watch Mr. Prime Minister and you will notice that what comes out of his mouth is what is actually in his heart. He is absolutely convinced now and he is right that he is going to lose Karnataka he is going to lose Chattisgarh, he is going to lose Madhya Pradesh he is going to lose Rajasthan and he is going to lose 2019. We have Raghavan Ji on that side can you please pass on the mic? Sir I am Raghavan from India TV Do you believe that the election in Karnataka this election will strengthen your chances for 2019 and what are your thoughts as you said that you want to become Prime Minister what are your chances of becoming Prime Minister in 2019? I again want to say this this election is not about me and this election is not about the Prime Minister this election is about the spirit of Karnataka this state has given our country so much when I hear that Karnataka that Bangaluru is the second Silicon Silicon Valley I feel proud and I am absolutely convinced that 5-10 years from today actually the people of Silicon Valley will come and say we are the second Silicon Valley and Bangaluru is the first so this election is about respecting the spirit of the people of this state and giving them the things that they require to take the state forward and this country forward I believe in the people of Karnataka and I think it is disrespectful to have the type of discussions that our Prime Minister has when it comes to this election I would expect the Prime Ministers to say let's talk about how we can help the farmers of Karnataka this is what you have done this is what we are proposing let's talk about how we get jobs to all these young, brilliant people, youngsters in this state you have suggested this my party is suggesting this we have put in manifesto we have clearly said have any conversation you want with us let's talk about farmers let's talk about IT let's talk about the garden city but that conversation is not forthcoming and frankly it's insulting to the youngsters it's insulting to the youngsters and the Prime Minister comes and tries to make this election but me or you know something ridiculous no so we are very patient we will not engage along those lines but I want to tell the youngsters of Karnataka that we are going to make sure that the jobs that you are looking for they are available to you in this state we have done it over the last 5 years and we are going to do it and we are going to do it so aggressively that the rest of the country will stand up and take notice the world will stand up and take notice I think we are done on time Shri Shankar from Udevani is here he has been saying and if we can take one question from Shruti TV Sir I will take Karnataka election my friend can we please pass on the mic excuse me would you like to ask a question please ask a question no the gentleman is here let the gentleman ask then we will come to you hello sir actually let me answer Sir can you ask a question instead of let me ask a question let me answer your question Congress party has given tremendous support to Bangaluru for the infrastructure the pressure is tremendous because fortunately for us Bangaluru has now become interesting to the whole world so there is tremendous amount of pressure we will continue to support the city on the details I don't want to suggest to the state government what I think they should do I think we have the chief minister sitting here so I will rather that he tells you what the state government is going to do Mr Gandhi Sir can you ask a question can you sir you have brought on the surface of a great deal if you care for public questions we can draw a mark on these profound views when they say the myself like EU I will support them if I am the 4thkarmen I will ensure them they will collaborate they are in under progress. Can we now permit Shri Shankar to ask with cumulative permission? Sir, this is unfair. We have to supersede other colleagues like that. Somebody is already asking the question. Hello, sir. This is Shankar. This is very unfair, sir. Mr. Ghan, Mr. Srijavala, you don't know my name. That's why you're not calling me out, but I am here. I am Anand, editor of News 18 Canada. I wanted to ask you about a post-poll scenario. Sir, I thought News 18 also already took a question and there was a judgment here. News 18 Canada hasn't taken a question. Just a second. I want to jump to a post-poll scenario. All people's surveys indicate that we are heading towards a hung assembly. You may say you're confident of getting a majority while appreciating that. I would also like to know, in case there is a hung assembly scenario, are you open to tying up with anyone? Any party including the GDS? Let me complete my question. There's one more thing to it. Including GDS, are you ready to tie up with any party? And if such a party insists that there be a Dalit chief minister, are you open to that? In Gujarat, my friends in the media said that the Congress party will not get more than 20-30 seats. The Congress party came very close to defeating the BJP in Gujarat. Prime Minister put whatever effort he could. I'm pretty clear here that there is only one outcome here. And that outcome is that the Congress party is going to win this election hands down. And I'll tell you why. Because this has now become an election between two ideologies. This is no longer an election between simply two political parties. On one side you have the RSS idea of one concept on top of this whole country. And on the other side, you have the idea that every single person in India should be able to express himself. That all my friends in Karnataka should have pride in their language. That they should have pride in their food. That they should have pride in the things they do. That's what this fight has become. And it is a one-way answer. There is no half-way answer possible in this. And the answer is going to be, we are for Basavata. Thank you. You spoke about Canada. There is one last question which I know I was expecting. Thankfully, Canada has come to the forefront in this election other than making it a symbolic gesture. Would you go out and amend the constitution so that Kandikas can write central competitive exams in Canada? Look, I'm making a broad statement. Well, they tell me it's already there. Anyway, let me move ahead. There is an idea in India that says the entire country must be ruled with one idea, one imposition. It says that everybody in India must submit to that idea. That is what the RSS is trying to do. You didn't ask me about the Supreme Court, but I'd like to talk about it. Institution after institution is being attacked by the RSS. Supreme Court judges for the first time are asking the Indian people for justice. There is a reason for this. The reason is that the RSS is placing their people everywhere. And the idea is to crush my friends in Karnataka. Listen to this carefully. The idea is to crush your spirit and we will never ever allow your spirit and the ideas of Pasavana to be crushed. Thank you very much.