Ruling out any truck with the Janata Dal(S), the BJP on Wednesday said the media had stretched Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s courtesies towards former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda out of context.
BJP’s national general secretary Muralidhar Rao, who is in charge of election-bound Karnataka, told reporters that Mr. Modi’s words showed his humility and the courtesy he extended to senior political leaders.
Mr. Modi had told an election rally in Udupi on Tuesday that Mr. Gowda was a “tall political leader” and every time he comes to New Delhi to meet him, he would go to his car and receive him. After finishing the talk, Mr. Modi said he would make it a point to walk Mr. Gowda back to his car and see him off.
Unfortunately, the media had stretched the courtesies out of context, Mr. Rao said, cautioning the media against such a practice.
Ruling out any possibility of the BJP having an alliance with the JD(S), Mr. Rao said the BJP is confident of forming the next government in Karnataka on its own. “Let there be no vagueness on this issue.”
‘Similar DNA’
Mr. Rao said the Congress and the JD(S) had a similar DNA and both the parties indulge in appeasement politics. “It makes no difference whether you vote for the Congress or the JD(S) as both represent the same ideology. If you vote for the JD(S), you will be indirectly voting for the Congress”, Mr. Rao claimed, adding that their mutual opposition and recrimination was merely “pretence”.
He cited as an example the alliance between Congress and JD(S) to control the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) even though the BJP had emerged as the single largest party in the civic body.
He said the BJP was the only alternative to the people of the State.
