Two days after calling the Janata Dal (Secular) the “BJP’s B team”, accusing it of a tacit alliance, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday continued his attack on the party, calling it “Janata Dal Sangh Parivar.”
Addressing party workers at Sri Kanaka Dasa Stadium here during the Janashirvada Yatre on Saturday, Mr. Gandhi said the “S” in the JD(S) stood for not “secular” but for “Sangh Parivar”.
“The Janata Dal Sangh Parivar has already decided to help the BJP in the coming Assembly elections. Whether it would be a ‘B’ team or ‘C’ team or any teams such as A, B, C, D, the Congress will defeat them by showcasing unity and strength in the elections,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi praised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his welfare schemes, and said the Congress would win the 2018 Assembly elections. “The JD(S) should follow the ideals and principles of Basavanna. Leaders of the JD(S) should ‘practice what they preach’ [ nudidante nade ],” he said.
Mr. Gandhi also continued to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre “for failing to fulfil their poll promises, their inability to create jobs, and promoting corruption.”
Kumaraswamy’s taunt
This came hours after the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the Congress president was not just “temple run Rahul”, but was also a “hit-and-run Rahul”.
In a statement, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he was awaiting a response from the Congress president to his repartee that the Congress in Karnataka was, in fact, the “B team of the JD(S)”.
“During your last visit to the State, you had made a childish statement against the JD(S). I had given a befitting reply to your statement and was waiting for your response to clarify the doubts among the people,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
“If you do not react, it means you accept my statement and are indulging in hit and run,” the JD(S) leader said before adding that the “temple run Rahul” was now “hit-and-run Rahul” also.
