New Delhi: Two days after Congress president M. Mallikarjun Kharge's "venomous snake" barb, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the party has hurled abuse at him 91 times. Leading the BJP campaign for Karnataka Assembly polls, Mr Modi addressed three public rallies on Saturday and held a road show in the state.
The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of abusing the dominant Lingayat community. Taking a swipe at former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, he said that the fact that the Congress leader was seeking votes on the plea of his own retirement showed what a pathetic state the party was in.
Addressing a public rally at Humnabad in Bidar district, Mr Modi said, "Someone has made a list of these abuses against me and it has been sent to me. Till now, people from the Congress have abused me 91 times. Had they put in their effort into good governance and boosting the morale of party workers, instead of wasting time on this dictionary of abuses, the Congress would not have been in such a pathetic state."
On Thursday, Mr Kharge likened Mr Modi to a venomous snake. As a row erupted, he backtracked stating that his intention was not to hurt anyone's feelings and the statement was not for PM Modi, but aimed at the ideology he represents.
The Prime Minister said, "Insulting those who work for the poor and the country is the Congress' history. I'm not the only one who has been attacked in this lowly manner. During the last election, they ran a campaign called 'Chowkidar chor hai', then they said 'Modi is a thief' and 'OBCs are thieves', and now that the election season has started in Karnataka, they have had the temerity to call my Lingayat brothers and sisters thieves. The people will give a fitting reply to the abuses through votes."
Noting that the Congress had abused Babasaheb Ambedkar and V.D. Savarkar as well, he deemed it as a mark of respect and "a gift".
"I feel that the Congress respects me like Babasaheb Ambedkar and Veer Savarkar, seeing as it is abusing me in a similar way. I feel it is their gift to me. Let the Congress abuse me, I will continue to work for the country and its people," the PM said.
Raising the slogan, "Ee baariya nirdhara, Bahumatada BJP Sarkara (This time the decision is, BJP government with a majority)", he appealed to the people to bring in a stable government in Karnataka.
Addressing another election rally in the district headquarters of Vijayapura, Mr Modi took a swipe at Mr Siddaramaiah. “A Congress leader is seeking votes in the name of his retirement from politics. His biggest poll plank is: 'This is my last election. Give me a chance.' What a pathetic state the party has reached," he said.
Mr Siddaramaiah had recently announced that the May 10 election would be his last one as he would not contest polls anymore.
In an attempt to connect with the dominant Lingayat community of Karnataka who are followers of the 12th-century social reformer Basaveshwara, he said that his party follows the teachings of the poet-saint, who was born in Vijayapura, in toto.
The Prime Minister said that the 2023 Assembly election in Karnataka is about building the state in the next 25 years. "The BJP has a definite roadmap for the development of Karnataka. The Congress has neither the roadmap nor any enthusiasm," he said.
He said the state needed a “double-engine BJP government” so that it became the “growth engine” of the country instead of becoming a “Congress' ATM”.
The Prime Minister also held a public rally at Kudachi in Belagavi district and a massive road show in Bengaluru North in the evening.
