“Anti-Hindu Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is turning Karnataka into another Kashmir,” BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Muralidhar Rao alleged in Belagavi on Saturday. He was speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of a cadre development camp of the party’s booth-level units.
“Mr. Siddaramaiah is joining hands with groups that chant anti-national slogans. That is because his politics is vote bank-based and not development-based. He is keen on organising Tipu Jayanti despite strong opposition to it from nationalist groups. Law and order has collapsed in Karnataka. Miscreants have killed 14 BJP workers but the government is sitting quiet. Congress leaders think we are their enemies and not political opponents. They act as if they have the mentality of terrorists,” he said.
“The Chief Minister has used unparliamentary words while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has called Mr. Modi a mass murderer and equated him with Hitler. The people will not forget this. They will teach him a lesson in the elections,” he further said.
Katti issue
Responding to questions on MLA Umesh Katti’s criticism of BJP leaders, he said discipline was paramount in the party and it would take action against any leader or worker who used unparliamentary words against any leader or the organisation. He, however, said Mr. Katti had uttered those words in connection with the issue of Lingayats seeking separate religion status and not in connection with the party. Anyway, the issue of Lingayatism getting the status of a separate religion is not of concern to the BJP, he said.
Mr. Rao said Mr. Siddaramaiah is supporting the cause only because he is ‘afraid’ of losing the polls. But Eshwar Khandre, a Minister in his Cabinet, is not supporting the cause.
Mr. Siddaramaiah’s loan waiver scheme was just an eyewash, Mr. Rao said. It would not help farmers. “The Chief Minister is doing nothing to stop farmers’ suicides. He is protecting corrupt Ministers, instead of throwing them out of the Cabinet,” Mr. Rao alleged.
The BJP leader said Mr. Modi will tour Karnataka after December 18. He expressed confidence that BJP would win Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.
He said that B.S. Yeddyurappa was a senior leader in the State BJP and felt no other party had a leader of that stature. For the sake of making Karnataka a Congress-free State, BJP was moving ahead with combined leadership. “Our rallies are showing that the people are fed up with the Congress,” he said.
