Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Bengaluru on Sunday could have been rescheduled for Monday so as to avoid inconvenience to students appearing for NEET.
In reply to a question, he said nearly 50,000 students would be appearing for NEET in Bengaluru and one should not play with the careers of students as too many restrictions tend to be in place when Mr. Modi was on tour. The roadshow could be put off but not the NEET and the Prime Minister should have realised it, he added.
Though the roadshow timings have been tweaked to end at 11.30 a.m. while the NEET commences at 2 p.m. there are concerns that the spillover effect of traffic restrictions will add to students pressure ahead of the examination.
Underlining the kind of restrictions that were imposed, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he, as Leader of the Opposition, was denied permission to fly to Gangavati because Mr. Modi was supposed to fly to Hosapete on the same day. “I tried explaining that the flight path will not clash and will take a detour but the aviation authorities would have none of it,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Politics of hate
Expressing confidence of a win by a ‘’huge margin’’ in Varuna, Mr. Siddaramaiah that the BJP was engaged in politics of hate.
‘’The BJP was pitting one community against another and instead of talking of development works, it was engaged in polarising the society. The Congress also criticises the BJP but we also talk of development works and promises,” he added.
In reply to a question on the frequent visit of Mr. Modi, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the BJP leaders in State have lost moral right to approach the people for votes and hence imagine that Mr. Modi’s presence can help. ‘’But this elections are about Karnataka and not national issues and will have no impact on the voters no matter how many times the Prime Minister visits the State,” he added.
