BJP takes to Twitter, attacks Congress president Rahul Gandhi at Hosapete

Bengaluru: In a tit-for-tat, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders took the Twitter route to attack Congress president Rahul Gandhi soon after he addressed the first ‘Janaashirvad Yatra’ at Hosapete on Saturday.

The digital communication team in the state unit of the party posed 10 questions to Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and demanded a reply. One question was on Mahadayi water dispute with Goa: “Did you condemn the statement of Sonia Gandhi who said in Goa during the election campaign that not a single drop of Mahadayi water will be released to Karnataka?”

State unit president B S Yeddyurappa hit back at Mr Rahul Gandhi for his “rear view mirror” comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He asked if the rear view mirror helped Mr Gandhi spot Mr Santosh Lad, Mr Anand Singh and Mr Venugopal remind him of the land, mining and 'rape scam'. "Still wondering what 'rape scam' means? Are the objects in the mirror closer than they appear?" he asked. Mr Anand Singh, who was a BJP MLA and joined the Congress recently, had in the past faced charges of illegal mining and Mr Lad land scam allegations, which both had refuted.

Mr Yeddyurappa also came down heavily on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah calling him a "corrupt opportunist." "Dear 10 per cent CM Siddaramaiah, I would like to remind you, your padayatre in 2013 about the mining sector. Now, inducting Anand Singh into the Congress camp has only proved you are a corrupt opportunist. Case of amnesia," he tweeted.

He was referring to the march led by Mr Siddaramaiah as the opposition leader to Ballari against illegal mining. The reference to 10 per cent relates to a charge made by Mr Modi at a rally here recently, where he had called the Siddaramaiah dispensation a "10 per cent commission government."