Congress involved in vote bank politics: Nadda

Udupi: BJP President JP Nadda accused the Congress of dividing society and engaging in vote bank politics and claimed that the BJP alone has led Karnataka towards development.

He was speaking at a public meeting at Byndoor in Udupi district on Monday.

“BJP is the only party under which Karnataka witnessed progress and it will continue in the future. I do not want to make a personal attack against Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar but would like to say that the primary character of Congress is division, corruption, commission, non-performance and betraying the people,” Nadda said.

Nadda accused the Siddaramaiah government of withdrawing 175 cases and releasing 1,600 PFI and KFD activists as part of vote bank politics and politics of convenience. 

He claimed that this action was hindering the progress of the state and affecting the peace in Karnataka, and made it his serious charge against Siddaramaiah.

“Why was Lokayukta removed? What was the logic? Can Siddaramaiah answer? It was done because they are deeply indulged in corruption. Lokayukta will be strong under the BJP rule,” he asserted.

 

At the same time, he termed all non-BJP parties as "family and dynastic parties". He said that BJP is the only party in the country with ideologies, a mass following, and a strong cadre base.

He gave the examples of Congress, SP, RJD, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), Mamtha Bannerjee, Biju Janata Dal, TRS-BRS, and DMK and said they were all family parties.

"Following the ideology set by our leader Sham Prasad Mukherjee, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji revoked Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir,” Nadda said.

Nadda recollected the strong bond between Udupi and BJP.

“Our party won the Udupi Municipality in 1968. That was the gateway of South India at that point of time,” he stated.

He went on to highlight some of India's recent accomplishments, such as achieving 100% Covid vaccination, which is higher than the US' 76% and Europe's 67%. 

He mentioned that India is now the world's 5th largest economy and that the country is now manufacturing 97% of its mobile phones, compared to just 92% in 2014. "The new Apple mobiles now bear the label Made In India," Nadda proudly noted.

Later, Nadda visited Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi and held consultations with the pontiffs of various mathas there. He met the seers at Sri Rama Vittala Hall of Pejawar Matha in Udupi. 

During the meeting, Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swamiji of Sri Pejavara Matha, who is one of the members of Sri Rama Janmabhoomi Kshetra Trust, urged Nadda to prioritize the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and also take measures to start more enterprises that cater to the region to prevent migration of youth to metropolitan cities. 

The seer emphasized the need for the new National Education Policy (NEP) to be implemented in the state, to ensure cow protection, and also demanded to set up a separate NIA office for monitoring terrorist activities in the region.