M. Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister, said on Friday that after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power at the Centre, atrocities against Dalits and women had increased.
Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Moily said that the BJP had still not expelled its MLA in Uttar Pradesh who, he said, was involved in a rape case. The kind of governance given in Uttar Pradesh by the BJP government could be gauged by the loss of parliamentary seats which were earlier being represented by both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya there.
Economic measures by the Narendra Modi government such as demonetisation and faulty implementation of Goods and Services Tax have led to loss of a large number of jobs across the country. But Karnataka could buck this trend because of better governance provided by the Congress government, he said.
After making a big show of abhorring corruption, the BJP had no qualms in giving seven ticket to accomplices of the Reddy brothers in the State. Even the projection of the BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa was based on faulty perception. The strength of Mr. Yeddyurappa could be gauged by the fact that the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) headed by him could win only four seats in the 2013 Assembly election, he said.
Asked why Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was contesting from two constituencies if the Congress was so confident of a win, Mr. Moily said that Mr. Siddaramaiah wanted to contest from Chamundeshwari alone. But local leaders from Badami wanted him to contest from there.
“There is historical significance to Mr. Siddaramaiah fighting from Badami. The Chalukya dynasty ruled from Badami. Like Pulakesin II, the great Chalukya ruler, who defeated Harshavardhana of Kannuaj, on the Narmada river and did not allow him to cross it, Mr. Siddaramaiah too will do so and not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cross it,” Mr. Moily said.
To a question, Mr. Moily said that the Congress would win all eight seats in Dakshina Kannada and all five seats in Udupi district.
To another query, he said that the BJP had copied some elements of the Congress manifesto in its manifesto released on Friday. “Let them do it, they suffer from lack of ideas,” Mr. Moily said.
Oscar Fernandes, Gopal Bhandary, M.A. Gafoor, Dinesh Puthran, Dominique P., Congress leaders, were present.
