Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held the Congress responsible for disruptions in the second leg of the budget session of Parliament, accusing the opposition party of having an agenda of opposing him.
“The Congress had an eco-system of looting which our government has come down heavily on. No wonder the Congress is angry with me and its leaders are abusing me,” Modi said at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Raichur ahead of the May 12 Karnataka assembly elections.
Campaigning for the party’s candidates contesting from the state’s northern part, about 470km north of Bengaluru, the Prime Minister said the Congress owes an explanation to the country about why it disrupted Parliament.
The second part of the budget session from March 5 to April 6 was washed out due to disruptions owing to protests by the Congress-led opposition over several issues.
Addressing hundreds of people in the drought-prone district, Modi also asked the Congress government in the state to give an account of their work done in the state.
“What has the Congress government done in Karnataka for water conservation? What efforts have been put towards de-silting? The Congress is patronising the mining mafia in the state and we need to free people from this mafia.”
{{/usCountry}}“What has the Congress government done in Karnataka for water conservation? What efforts have been put towards de-silting? The Congress is patronising the mining mafia in the state and we need to free people from this mafia.”
{{/usCountry}}In Chitradurga, he slammed the Congress for allegedly ignoring the interests of Dalits and “insulting” the architect of India’s Constitution, BR Ambedkar.
“The Congress has insulted Ambedkar. They have never accepted him. The Congress never had any time for him,” Modi told a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally, about 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.
Ambedkar (1891-1956) was the country’s first law minister and a social reformer who campaigned against the discrimination faced by Dalits.
With a Dalit leader Ram Nath Kovind being appointed the country’s President, the Congress has grown “uncomfortable”, said Modi in his 45-minute speech in Hindi, translated in Kannada simultaneously.
“With the highest offices of the country being occupied by people from poor and humble background, the Congress is uncomfortable. That is why now the Congress prefers to mislead people in the name of the Dalit community.
He also said the Siddaramaiah government was doing “vote bank politics” by celebrating the anniversaries of Sultans instead of the leaders of the land who fought against them, apparently referring to Tipu Jayanti, which was celebrated as a state event.