The BJP on Tuesday accused the Karnataka government of diverting taxpayers' money to the pockets of Congress workers through its proposed Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas, alleging the initiative is a "party cadre-building exercise" at a time when the state is grappling with mounting debt.
The allegations came after the Karnataka government on Monday issued an order to establish 10,000 Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas (youth clubs) across the state to promote leadership, sports, culture, scientific temper and social harmony.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged the Congress' philosophy is to "line its own pockets with taxpayers' money".
"The Congress has always believed in taking away the people's resources for the benefit of one family. So whether it is the Congress party at the Centre or in Karnataka, their philosophy is simple -- pocket the people's money," he said in a video posted on X.
He alleged the Congress government is diverting public funds to strengthen its party organisation despite Karnataka facing a debt of over Rs 7 lakh crore.
"At a time when Karnataka is burdened with a debt of more than Rs 7 lakh crore and every year thousands of crores are spent on interest payments, instead of cutting wasteful expenditure, they are using the people's resources and taxpayers' money to fill the coffers of the Congress party and benefit its karyakartas," he alleged.
Poonawalla also claimed that despite paying high taxes, people of Karnataka continue to face poor infrastructure and public services while state funds are allegedly diverted through scams or distributed among Congress workers.
"The Congress government in Karnataka is a curse for the people of the state. They pay the highest taxes, bus fares, metro fares, hospital charges and garbage collection tax. But instead of using that money to improve roads, infrastructure, or public facilities, it is either being siphoned off through corruption, such as the MUDA scam and contractor scam, into the pockets of Congress leaders, or is now being distributed through these Bharat Jodo clubs," he alleged.
Terming the Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas a "brand new scam", Poonawalla alleged that the clubs were an indirect way of transferring state funds to Congress workers.
"The Congress government is setting up Bharat Jodo clubs and has earmarked Rs 10 lakh for each club. Every trainer in these clubs will receive Rs 24,000 a month. This is basically an indirect way of paying state funds to Congress karyakartas," he claimed.
He further alleged corruption in appointments to state corporations and boards and accused the Congress of usurping public land.
"We are seeing that most appointments to corporation boards and other bodies are of Congress leaders and karyakartas. That has become yet another source of income for them.
"Land earmarked for civic amenities was transferred to the Congress party office. And nobody in the Congress can question the D K Shivakumar government because the national leadership itself claims that the National Herald property belongs to one family. They are even taking over the property meant for freedom fighters," he alleged.
Poonawalla alleged that while public finances remain under strain, the Congress continues to spend on strengthening its party organisation.
"Yet the Congress splurges on branded party structures. This is the classic Congress playbook -- use state money for cadre salaries, fake beneficiaries and political branding. Taxpayers are funding the Congress ecosystem, not development," he charged and added that Karnataka deserves better than this patronage politics.
