Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Congress during the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) campaign for the Karnataka Assembly to be held on May 10.
The Congress and its leaders have abused him 91 times, Modi claimed at a rally in Humnabad in Bidar district of the state, training his guns on Mallikarjun Kharge for calling him a “venomous snake” without naming the Congress president.
Congress in pathetic state: PM Modi
“Someone has made a list of such abuses against me and sent it to me. Till now Congress leaders have abused me 91 times. Had the Congress people put in effort for good governance and for boosting the morale of its workers, instead of wasting time on this dictionary of abuses, the party would not have been in such a pathetic state,” he said.
“The Congress hates everyone who speaks about the common man, who highlights their corruption, who attacks their politics of selfishness. The hate that the Congress has towards such people will become permanent. In this election, too, the Congress has again started abusing me,” Modi said.
PM Modi accuses Congress of abusing Lingayat community
The Prime Minister accused the Congress of abusing the dominant Lingayat community, in an obvious reference to the comment by party leader Siddaramaiah about “corrupt Lingayat CM”. This is not new as the party had even abused Babasaheb Ambedkar and are now engaged in abusing Veer Savarkar, he contended.
“I'm not the only one who has been attacked like this. During the last election they ran a campaign 'Chowkidar chor hai'. Then they said 'Modi Chor' and later said 'OBC community are chor'. Now, at the start of the election season in Karnataka, they have called my Lingayat brothers and sisters 'chor',” Modi said.
The electorate of Karnataka will respond to these abuses with thier votes and though the Congress hurls mud at the BJP, the lotus will bloom in the state, he said.
“Congress leaders, listen with open ears. Whenever you have abused someone they have punished you in such a way that you have not been able to withstand it. This time Karnataka has decided to respond to the abuses, the pain inflicted to their pride, through votes,” he said.
PM Modi appeals for full majority in Karnataka
Modi appealed to the people to bring in a stable and strong BJP government in Karnataka with full majority and gave a new poll slogan for the state: “Ee baariya nirdhara, Bahumatada BJP Sarkara (This time the decision is, BJP government with a majority).”
Karnataka needs a double engine BJP government so that there is a coordination between the Centre and the state and so that there are no obstacles, infrastructure projects get completed quickly, foreign investors gain confidence about the state and Karnataka becomes the growth engine of the country instead of becoming the ATM of the Congress, he said.
Bidar's 'Bidri' craft artist Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri was recently awarded the Padma Shri, Modi pointed out and accused the Congress of not recognising his work for decades. Quadri, who received Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu recently, had told Modi that he was wrong in believing that the BJP government would not honour him with the prestigious civilian award.
