Bengaluru: A day after BJP national president Amit Shah gave a call to root out the Congress government in the next assembly election, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah hit out at Mr Shah saying that the latter would have been behind bars if Narendra Modi had not become Prime Minister.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of Bengaluru IT.Biz here on Monday, Mr Siddaramaiah reacted to a question on Shah’s call for Congress-mukta Karnataka and said, “He (Mr Shah) was an accused in a murder case. We need not learn lessons from those who were accused of murder. He would have been behind bars had Mr Narendra Modi not become Prime Minister of this country. Who was there next to him? Having kept Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa by his side, Mr Shah talks of corruption of the Congress government.”
Taking a jibe at senior BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa, Mr Siddaramaiah launched a veiled attack on him saying Mr Shah talks about corruption when there was a leader who had money counting machines at his home. Therefore, Mr Shah had no moral right to criticise the Congress government, the CM contended.
When reporters sought his reaction to Aakrosh Divas and Sambram Divas, Mr Siddaramaiah clarified that his party had never called for a Bharat bandh therefore, the question of people not supporting them did not arise. “We did not oppose demonetisation. We opposed the way it was executed. Why is BJP celebrating today? Are they celebrating for causing hardship to the common man?” he wondered.
When his attention was drawn to Mr Yeddyurappa’s statement that if his party was voted to power, the Cauvery and Kalasa Banduri crisis would be solved within 24 hours, Mr Siddaramaiah quipped, “He was in power for two years and his party was in power for five years. Why did he not solve the issues then?”
Mr Siddaramaiah also laughed at the BJP’s call to root out Congress party in the next election. “In the next election the BJP’s defeat is certain and the Congress will return to power,” he asserted.
