Vijayapura/Bengaluru: Battleground Karnataka on Tuesday saw an all out war of the titans with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacking the Congress over corruption and divisive politics while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, addressing her first election rally in two years, questioned the Prime Minister on his policies and anti-corruption stand, accusing him of indulging in hollow speeches that failed to fill empty stomachs in the country.
A day after he was hauled over the coals by his predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh, the PM hit back at the previous Congress-led UPA government led by Dr Singh saying it was led by an ‘absentee prime minister’ adding that he was paying the price now for inheriting a poorly managed economy.
Mr Modi said at a rally in Lingayat-dominated Vijayapura that Karnataka has decided to uproot the Congress and punish it for wrongdoings. "The Congress is already trying to find excuses like faulty EVMs for the impending defeat in the polls, said Mr Modi. “I have toured across Karnataka in the past eight days and found that people are not only set to defeat the Congress but have decided to give the party a five-year punishment,” he added.
Taking on the Siddaramaiah government over alleged corruption, Mr Modi said that there is not even a single minister who is not facing accusations of financial irregularities.
“The Congress believes in the policy of divide and rule... divide on the basis of caste and religion... Make brother fight brother. But people of this land of Basaveshwara will not allow it to happen,” he said.
At another rally in Bengaluru, Mr Modi said, “The BJP promises greater prosperity for farmers, better education, skill development, better opportunities for youth, more industrial development, a positive eco-system for industrial growth, an end to politics of dividing society and a safer state for women.”
He said that under the Congress government, Bengaluru’s infrastructure is crumbling and women’s safety is not a priority for the state government.
Meanwhile, Mr Javadekar said that in Badami, they found a dairy from a Congress worker whihch gave details of people getting money from the Congress party and demanded that the badmai poll too should be countermanded.
