MODI, IN KARNATAKA, TEARS INTO CONG GOVERNMENT

Modi says state govt has set new records in corruption, accuses Congress of appeasement politics over triple talaq

BENGALURU: Tearing into the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, chided it for setting “new records” in corruption and asserted that the countdown for its exit has begun.

“Congress government is at the exit gate,” Modi said, as he mounted an all-out attack on the Congress rule at a rally in the state’s capital. He dubbed the government a “10% commission government” and saying criminals were ruling the roost.

Modi also referred to the spate of killings of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindu activists in the state — an issue the party has brought to the focal point of its discourse — saying, “ease of doing murders” was being discussed in the state while his government talked about ease of doing business.

The BJP is targeting a win with more than 150 seats for the coming polls. Karnataka is the second major state after Punjab where the Congress is ruling.

“Congress government is a 10% government, where no work happens without paying a commission of 10%. It is a matter of shame if this becomes the identity of a government,” he said. Asserting that there was a “saffron wave” in the state, Modi said people of Karnataka had decided to make the state “Congress free”.

Accusing Congress of practising “appeasement politics” on the issue of triple talaq, Modi said, “Congress is trying to hang a bill related to triple talaq”, he said, also pointing to Congress opposition to grant constitutional status to the OBC commission.

The rally at the sprawling Pal--

ace Grounds marked the culmination of the state BJP’S 85-day “Parivarthana Yatra” that crisscrossed all the 224 assembly constituencies. The BJP ruled the state from 2008 to 2013.

CM TAKES ON SHAH

Chief minister Siddaramaiah attacked BJP chief Amit Shah, alleging that instigating communal tension was his “standard”.

“Whoever indulges in triggering communal violence in Karnataka, we will not allow them... I will not say that Modi will come and instigate to do it, but Amit Shah... that is his standard. He doesn’t know anything other than that...” he said.