‘No need to learn patriotism from BJP’: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Claiming that RSS and BJP did not participate in the country's freedom struggle, CM Siddaramaiah said “we don't need to learn patriotism from the BJP”.
Claiming that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party did not participate in the country's freedom struggle, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said "we don't need to learn patriotism from the BJP."
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru (ANI)
Replying to the debate on the budget in the Karnataka Assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "RSS did not participate in the freedom struggle. Even when the freedom struggle intensified, neither Keshav Baliram Hedgewar nor MS Golwalkar of the Sangh Parivar participated. We don't need to learn patriotism from the BJP. It is BJP who is dividing the country and society in the name of religion."
Exuding confidence, the Karnataka Chief Minister said that people would defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
"Sab ka 'saath sab ka vikas' is just a slogan. Are such people fit to rule the country? People will defeat BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he said.
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"Sab ka 'saath sab ka vikas' is just a slogan. Are such people fit to rule the country? People will defeat BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he said.
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Siddaramaiah said that the previous BJP government did not achieve any progress; they just "looted," adding that the Congress government implemented guarantee schemes along with development programmes.
"Basavaraja Bommai presented a budget that was about ₹3.09 lakh crore in February 2023. The size of the budget presented by me for the years 2024-25 is ₹3,71,343 crore," he said.
He further said that the previous BJP government did not develop anything.
"They just looted. We have achieved development along with guarantee schemes as well. This is the difference between the Congress and the BJP governments," Karnataka CM said.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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