Chitradurga/Raichur, Karnataka: Continuing with his attack on Congress ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dubbed it as a 'deal party' at his poll rallies in Chitradurga and Raichur, saying the party “protects the corrupt”.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, too, lambasted PM Modi and said that such words is very unbecoming of someone holding the post of the Prime Minister of India.
The Congress leader said, “We expected a dignified language from him (Modi). But what he spoke was the BJP's language and not the one of a civilised person. He spoke at a very low level...this is not the language of the prime minister.”
Siddaramaiah was referring to Modi’s dubbing the Congress government as a "10 per cent government" and "seedha rupaiah sarkar".
Mocking and listing out a string of electoral defeats in several state assembly elections, including those in Maharashtra and Tripura, Modi said that the Congress party has been uprooted from all over the country and “no one can save it now”.
"...And in Karnataka?" he asked the crowd, which reiterated that the Congress will be ousted from power in the southern state as well.
Taking the BJP's campaign in the poll-bound Karnataka to full throttle ahead of the voting next week, Modi also accused the Congress of "distorting history" as part of a conspiracy to divide the society, of making false promises and having no agenda other than "abusing Modi".
The state goes to polls on May 12. The counting of votes will take place on May 15.
Referring to the ruling Congress’ decision to commemorate the legendary 18th century ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan every year on November 10, Modi flayed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government for celebrating the "jayantis of sultans" (birth anniversaries of Muslim rulers) for the sake of "vote bank politics".
"Now they cannot survive. No one can save the Congress now. For 70 years they have misled and befooled the people," Modi said, as he continued his campaign blitz across Karnataka where the party is heavily banking on him.
At his rally in Chitradurga, Modi, while referring to corruption charges against a minister without naming him, said, "The Congress is a party that neither has dil (heart) nor is it pro-Dalit. It is a deal party."
Targeting CM Siddaramaiah, the Prime Minister said he always keeps character certificates ready in his suitcase. "Whenever an allegation of corruption against a minister is made, he immediately takes out a character certificate, writes the name and tells the people he is honest.
"The time has come to bid farewell to the Congress party that is not interested in your welfare. Make it a clean sweep for the BJP and send this chief minister home as he only goes around giving clean chits," Modi told the crowd.
Accusing the Congress of sidelining stalwarts like B R Ambedkar and undivided Congress president and former Karnataka chief minister S Nijalingappa, he said the party was interested in promoting only one family and naming "thousands of schemes" after them.
At Raichur, he said the Congress' "new mantra is spreading lies".
The Congress has realised its "vote bank politics is shaken" and, therefore, it has started a campaign for "misleading and spreading lies" among Dalits, and asked them to be aware, Modi said.
The prime minister accused the Congress of not allowing parliament to function because it feared he was "gaining the trust of the people by completing his works successfully one after the other".
He said the Karnataka elections were a contest between the Congress' "misdeds and people's aspirations".
"On one side is the BJP with the mantra of 'sab ka saath sab ka vikaas (together with all development for all). On the other side is the Congress party that believes in doing everything for one family," he said.
While the BJP was fighting against the corrupt system, the Congress protects the corrupt, he alleged. The BJP was progressing in politics with the"blessings of people", while the Congress was dividing people, creating rift between brothers and following a divide-and-rule policy, Modi said.
The prime minister asked the Congress to give an account of its work in Karnataka in the last five years.
"From morning till evening they just say Modi, Modi, Modi. Other than abusing Modi in this election is there any agenda for the Congress? The time has come to see off such a Congress party," he said.
In Chitradurga, attacking the Congress over the "Tipu Jayanti" controversy, Modi said: "Look at the Congress' character...the birth anniversaries of those need to be celebrated from whom we draw inspiration from generations to generations. They cannot think about celebrating their jayantis".
He said, "Veera Madakari and Onake Obavva are forgotten, but for the sake of vote bank politics they are into celebrating jayantis of sultans."
A Dalit woman, Onake Obavva was the legendary wife of a soldier in the army of Madakari Nayaka, the last ruler of Chitrdurga. She is said to have fought single handedly and killed with a pestle several invading soldiers of the army of Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan, in 1779.
She was killed by Hyder Ali's soldiers in her valiant effort to protect the fort where her husband was the guard of a watch tower.
Celebration of "Tipu Jayanti" has been strongly opposed by the BJP. While a section of society has hailed Tipu Sultan as a hero who died fighting the British, the others called him a "fanatic" ruler.
"By celebrating this jayanti, the Congress has insulted the people of Karnataka and Chitradurga. They have played with sentiments and feelings of people of Chitradurga," Modi said.
(With PTI inputs)
Comments
0 comment