Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah has hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments on the Congress during his three public rallies in Karnataka on Saturday.
Referring to Mr. Modi terming the Congress rule as “ bhrastha kaal” and the BJP rule as “ amrit kaal”, Mr. Siddaramaiah asked Mr. Modi on Twitter whether he did not remember the “Adanis and Ambanis” and or even see the Chief Minister and other Ministers on the stage with him who face multiple corruption cases.
He also asked whether over ₹8 crore seized by the Lokayukta from BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa’s family homes and office were indeed money procured from selling arecanut. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Prime Minister should have at least remembered the letter the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association wrote to him complaining of “40% commission” and the family of the BJP worker and contractor Santosh Patil who committed suicide unable to pay “commission”. “It is indeed an amrit kaal for BJP MLAs and Ministers, but it is definitely visha kaala for the State,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also attacked Mr. Modi on how the party has allegedly treated the Lingayat community in a “use and throw fashion”. “People have seen how the BJP jailed B.S. Yediyurappa during the first tenure, replaced him again this time, ill-treated his son and have now blackmailed them using central agencies,” he said, alleging the party had denied the ticket to several Lingayat leaders such as Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi to ensure there was no second line of leadership in the community.
He attacked Mr. Modi and said he had lied about the “achievements” of the BJP government and that the Congress had abused him 91 times. “Haven’t your party leaders, including you, abused our party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi?” he asked, listing out the manner in which the Gandhis have been referred to in a derogatory manner in the past. “Hasn’t your party’s leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal called Sonia Gandhi visha kanya?” he asked.
