Bengaluru: Coming down heavily on Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, BJP national general secretary, Muralidhar Rao alleged on Wednesday that his family was greatly benefiting after he assumed office in the state.
Interacting with young voters and college students under the ‘New India Townhall’ programme of the state BJP here, Mr. Rao, however, did not elaborate on his charge. Referring to Mr Kumaraswamy’s recent tweets that celebrating the Balakot attack would lead to polarisation and harm Muslims lives in India, he said, the BJP would not accept this kind of narrative of nationalism. “Our army is fighting terrorists and backing it has nothing do with elections," he contended.
Denying that the Modi government had been stepmotherly in its treatment of Karnataka, Mr Rao said the state had received Rs. 2.19 lakh crore for various schemes over the last five years.
“Coalition parties in Karnataka only aim to win 10 seats from the state. But the BJP is eyeing all 28 seats. Regional parties in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana , West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh want the Prime Minister’s post by winning 20, 30 or 40 seats. How can a country get an able and strong leadership from these parties? The BJP, on the other hand, wants to give a decisive and stable leadership at the Centre,” he said.
To a question by the students, he claimed the Modi government had generated employment through sanctioning loans for self employment. In response to another query, he said the BJP would definitely build the Ram temple once it returned to power at the Centre.
Explaining that the BJP aimed to expand its base in South India, he said, “The Congress has lost its base in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Wherever it has lost, the BJP has gained. By giving priority to the local identity, we will try to gain the confidence of the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam speaking people.”
