Modi begins K’taka campaign blitz, says BJP ‘storm’ coming
PM, CM Siddaramaiah trade barbs over poll formula
BENGALURU: Starting a whirlwind five-day, 15-rally push to get his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the halfway mark in the Karnataka assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that he saw a “storm,” not a “wave,” in favour of his party, targeted the state government for corruption, and ridiculed chief minister Siddaramaiah for what he termed a “2+1” strategy of contesting two constituencies even while handing over his own to his son.
Modi also highlighted his government’s achievements, including the latest one of electrifying all villages in the country, in one of the three rallies he addressed on Tuesday. Most opinion polls have predicted a hung assembly, with neither the Congress nor the BJP achieving a simple majority, leaving former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) in the enviable position of deciding who gets to form the next government in the state.
Modi dismissed concerns of a hung assembly and said his party would get a clear majority; however, he seemed to be keeping his options open by not targeting the JD(S), and mentioning his regard for Deve Gowda, albeit in the context of a comparison between how the Congress insults a senior leader, and he (Modi) doesn’t. “I even receive him at the door, hold his vehicle’s door open whenever we meet,” he added.
Reacting sharply, Siddaramaiah said this is a clear indication that both the parties have an internal understanding. And he pointed to the fact that Modi himself had contested two Lok Sabha seats in the last parliamentary elections, and gave his own spin to the “2+1” strategy on Twitter.
He stated that it was the BJP that had one, and that it involved “two Reddys” and “one Yeddy” , playing on the candidature of the controversial Ballari Reddys and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.
JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, however, rubbished Siddaramaiah’s allegation of an internal understanding, saying: “To even describe a leader’s achievements or praise one freely, one should have culture. In finding fault with Modi’s praise and tweeting about it indicates the negative mindset of Siddaramaiah.”
Modi also tore into the ruling Congress party in Karnataka, saying that the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated and claimed that the state government had only enabled ‘ease of doing murder,’ citing the death of nearly two dozen BJP workers in the state. He said the people would ‘punish’ the Congress party in the May 12 election.
Modi spoke at three rallies covering southern, coastal and northern Karnataka. In Santemarahalli in Chamrajnagar, South Karnataka, he spoke of his government’s effort to ensure that electricity reached all villages across the country, ahead of a deadline he had set three years back.
AGRA: Causing an embarrassment to the party unit, BJP MLA from Agra North Jagan Prasad Garg has accused the Agra municipal commissioner of taking 27% commission in development works.
“While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted ‘na khaunga na khane doonga’, Agra municipal commissioner Arun Prakash is not allowing work without having 27% commission. Even mayor Naveen Jain has turned a blind eye towards this ‘commission khori’ (corruption) but enough is enough,” said Garg, a thirdterm MLA.
“These officials at Nagar Nigam are merely executing bodies and have no right to get their names mentioned on stones laid at time of inauguration, but they continue to do so and challenge my authority,” Garg said.
“If Nagar Ayukt wants his name mentioned, he should stop having 27% commission, otherwise I will stage dharna with contractors,” he said.
Despite repeated efforts, the municipal commissioner was not available for his comment.