E-Paper
‘If Cong comes to power, Karnataka will be afflicted with riots’: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if Congress comes to power in Karnataka, the state will be 'afflicted with riots.'
As the May 10 assembly election approaches fast in Karnataka, campaigns have intensified, with both Congress and the BJP roping in many union ministers, senior leaders and star campaigners to tour the southern state for rallies and roadshows.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a three-day visit to the poll-bound state, addressed a public gathering in Bagalkote on Tuesday, furthering his attack on opposition parties. “This Assembly election is not just to choose an MLA but to hand over the future of the state in to the hands of PM Modi. It is an election to make Karnataka a developed state and also bring political stability here,” he said.
He also said if the Congress came back to power in Karnataka, dynastic politics will be at an all-time high in the state and it will be "afflicted with riots".
“If Congress comes to power in Karnataka, there will be all-time high corruption, appeasement politics, familial politics and riots in the state. Voting for JD(S) means giving your vote to Congress. If you don't want your vote to go to Congress, then vote for BJP for the overall development of Karnataka,” the Home Minister said.
“It clearly shows that there is bankruptcy in your party (Congress) when you fight elections depending on leaders who have joined Congress leaving the BJP,” he added.
Shah also defended the BJP government's decision of scrapping four per cent quota for Muslims and said the party never believed in “religion-based reservation”. Addressing the Congress' assurance that the quota would be restored if it is voted to power in the state, he said, “We believe that reservation should not be given on the basis of religion.”
Shah held a roadshow in the old Mysore region on Monday, which is a Vokkaliga heartland, where he hit out at former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar, who recently left the BJP, saying that his exit will not be a loss for the party.
