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Karnataka polls: PM Modi calls Congress enemy of peace and development
Karnataka Polls: PM Modi said the entire politics of the opposition party is based on “divide and rule” policy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday stepped up his attack on the Congress, calling it the “enemy of peace and development”, as campaigning for the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka entered the final stretch.
Addressing a public meeting at Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronghold, the prime minister claimed that the Congress tried to save those who were arrested for conspiring to spread terror. The opposition party not only withdraws cases against such “anti-social elements”, but also releases them, he added.
“Congress is an enemy of peace and development. The people who want progress will first kick out Congress from their state. Congress immediately comes to the aid of those who get arrested for conspiring to spread terror in Karnataka,” he claimed, adding that the Congress also takes electoral help from anti-national forces.
Modi said the entire politics of the opposition party is based on “divide and rule” policy, and charged it with going across the world defaming the country, when India’s democracy and development is being appreciated and respected globally. “America, Australia, Japan, UK, in every corner of the world India is being appreciated or not? Why?... It is not because of Modi; it is happening because of your (people’s) votes. It’s the strength of your votes, which formed a strong and stable government in Delhi,” he said.
Emphasising that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to make Karnataka number one state in India, he said: “We want Karnataka to become number one in industrial and agriculture development, fisheries and port. We are working on it.”
The Congress, however, is looking to make Karnataka the “number one ATM” for its “Shahi Parivar” (royal family) sitting in Delhi, in an indirect reference to the family of former party president Sonia Gandhi.
Polling for the 224-member Karnataka assembly will be held on May 10 and counting of votes on May 13. The BJP is aiming to repeat its previous performance in the Dakshina Kannada district, where the party had won seven of the eight assembly seats in 2018.
Continuing his attack on the opposition party, the prime minister said the Congress disrespects the armed forces of the country. “When the entire nation respects our soldiers and the armed forces, the Congress disrespects them and abuses the seniors. When the whole world congratulates India for its democracy and developments, the Congress badmouths the country,” he added.
Addressing another rally at Ankola in Uttara Kannada district, the prime minister accused the Congress of using “politics of abuses” to target him. “The Opposition only knows ‘Gaali politics’. They cannot defeat us so they abuse us. The people of Karnataka reject abuse politics and all the voters will teach a lesson to the Congress for abusing me,” he said.
“What will Karnataka do to Congress? I know, Karnataka will punish Congress. When you head for voting, before you press the button, just chant ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ and punish it,” he added.
Lord Hanuman is called Bajrangbali by devotees.
In its election manifesto released on Tuesday, the Congress proposed a ban on organisations such as Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India (PFI), saying it was committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred among communities on grounds of caste and religion. Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of BJP’s ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
It, however, stoked a political row just a week ahead of the high-stakes assembly elections in the southern state.
Hitting back at the prime minister on Wednesday, state Congress president DK Shivakumar said: “We are also devotees of Hanuman. We chant Hanuman Chalisa daily. Let Prime Minister Narendra Modi stop criticising us unnecessarily and tell us what the double engine government has contributed to the state.”
He added: “What is the relationship between Bajrang Dal and Hanuman? Hanuman is different, Bajrang Dal is different. Bajrang Dal is just an organisation… Bajrang Dal was abusing the legal system and violating it with moral policing. Our intention is that they should be within the rule of law. You have misunderstood the point of our manifesto.”
Amid the political slugfest, the Election Commission on Tuesday issued an advisory to the political parties and their star campaigners, asking them to exercise caution and restraint in their utterances and not to vitiate the election atmosphere.
(With inputs from agencies)
