I made mistake, K’taka will not: Shah on gaffe

BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday acknowledged the mistake he made during a press conference earlier this week when he said that the government of BS Yeddyurappa (his own party’s chief ministerial candidate) was the most corrupt.

Addressing his party workers in Mysuru, Shah said, “Everybody from (chief minister) Siddaramaiah and (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi latched onto it. I might have had made a mistake but the people of Karnataka will not make this mistake,” Shah said.

Shah, who is on a two-day tour of the Mysuru region in the pollbound state, accused the Congress government of corruption. “The Congress stands for corruption and violence,” Shah alleged. “The Janata Dal (Secular) cannot change the Congress and cannot hope to form a government. They can at best win a few seats. They cannot uproot the Congress. For that you will have to ensure the BJP’s victory and make Yeddyurappa the chief minister,” he claimed.

Earlier in the day, Shah was accompanied by state BJP leaders to the Suttur Mutt, a monastery

SHAH, WHO IS ON A TWODAY TOUR OF THE MYSURU REGION IN THE POLLBOUND STATE, ACCUSED THE CONGRESS GOVERNMENT OF CORRUPTION.

dear to the Veerashaivas/ Lingayats, in Mysuru. He also visited the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, and met the family of an RSS worker, Raju, who was killed in 2016. Outside the worker’s house, Shah alleged that “around 24 of our workers have been murdered and the police have not taken any action”.

He also claimed before his party workers that the Mysuru region would be “where the Congress will face the biggest setback” in the upcoming elections”.

Meanwhile, Congress state working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the party would complain to the Election Commission of India against the BJP for violating model code of conduct after Shah allegedly promised Raju’s family a monetary help of ₹5 lakh. BJP MP Pratap Simha denied this, saying the compensation had already been paid.