The BJP on Saturday came down heavily on Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Hosapete, terming it a repeat of the “Gujarat election speech” that did not address the problems of Karnataka.
In a tit for tat, the party criticised Mr. Gandhi for not speaking on the Mahadayi dispute. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was criticised for remaining mum on the issue when he was in Bengaluru.
BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa went on the offensive, blaming former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the Congress for the Mahadayi impasse, and tweeted: “Let us not beg for water but ask for it holding their collar.”
ADVERTISEMENT
S. Suresh Kumar, chief spokesperson, BJP, said it was worrying that Mr. Gandhi did not address the issue of farmer suicides or the murders of Hindu activists in the State.
Through the day, BJP upped its ante on social media with Mr. Yeddyurappa posing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah 14 questions and BJP posing AICC president Rahul Gandhi 10 questions, with hashtags #Dare2Answer and #RahulMustAnswer, respectively.
Mr. Yeddyurappa welcomed Mr. Gandhi to the State calling him an “election Hindu”. Addressing Mr. Siddaramaiah as “10PercentCM”, he posed the Chief Minister questions that highlighted issues such as weakening the Lokayukta, suicide of farmers, and so on. BJP also asked why he did not visit the houses of 24 Hindu activists killed in the State, while he had visited the house of Dadri lynching victim Mohammed Akhlaq. Following Mr. Gandhi’s speech, Mr. Yeddyurappa again took to Twitter and punned on the “rear-view mirror” jibe.
ADVERTISEMENT
To the questions, Mr. Siddaramaiah tweeted: “As for your questions ask them with dignity you will get the answers.”