Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over their reaction in connection to the video of him and his ministers travelling by a luxury jet to Delhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said, "Ask BJP people in what plane PM Modi travels in".
Amid the Congress' crowdfunding campaign, the BJP on Friday launched an attack on Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and state minister Ahmed Khan saying that at a time when their party is asking for donations, the two leaders are travelling in a 'private jet'.
Responding to this, a visibly angry Siddaramaiah said, "Ask BJP people in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels in. He travels alone in a 60 seater aircraft."
Gujarat Congress President Shaktisinh Gohil also backed the Karnataka Chief Minister saying, "When PM Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, he travelled in the costliest aircraft brought in especially for him from UAE."
READ | Karnataka CM, ministers’ visit to Delhi in private jet sparks political row
Earlier in the day, BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed the Karnataka Congress saying that the duo had 'happy moments' in a private jet while they were travelling to Delhi to seek drought funds' release from the Centre.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed the Karnataka Congress saying that the duo had 'happy moments' in a private jet while they were travelling to Delhi to seek drought funds' release from the Centre.
{{/usCountry}}Posting a video of Karnataka minister Zameer Ahmed with the state Chief Minister on the social media platform, X, Malviya wrote, "On the one hand, Congress is pretending to crowdfund and didn't even serve samosas in I.N.D.I Alliance meeting, on the other, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cabinet Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Affairs in Karnataka Govt, is flaunting his pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private jet. They apparently had 'happy moments' traveling together to Delhi, to seek funds for drought relief. Irony died a million times."
"Karnataka is reeling under mis-governance but Congress's loot must continue," Malviya added.
The video was originally posted by the Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan himself. The video showed the Luxury private jet with the minister and the Chief Minister which was posted with the caption " Happy moments of traveling from Delhi to Bangalore with our proud leader, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah"
Karnataka BJP leader CT Ravi, sharing the same video, said that the state government does not have funds to pay our farmers affected by drought but it has all the funds to fly the chief minister.
"Karnataka government does not have funds to pay our Farmers affected by drought. Neither does it have funds for development or to fulfil its guarantees. But it has all the funds to fly the chief minister, his political secretary and housing minister in luxurious private jet. And that too to seek funds for drought relief from the central government And CM Siddaramaiah boasts that he is a 'Samaajavaadi'. But Kannadigas can only see a 'Majaavaadi' here !" the BJP leader wrote.
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Meanwhile, the Congress which is completing 138 years of its foundation on December 28, recently launched the crowdfunding campaign 'Donate for Desh' ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The campaign aims at "empowering the party to create an India rich in equal resource distribution and opportunities".
Speaking about the campaign, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that this is the first time that the grand old party is asking people for donations and cited Mahatma Gandhi, who also took donations from the public during the freedom struggle.
"It's the first time that Congress is asking people for donations for the nation... If you work only by depending on the rich people, then you have to follow their policies. Mahatma Gandhi also took donations from the public during the freedom struggle," said Kharge.