BENGALURU: Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah over 'Parivarthana Yatra' which the leader inaugurated earlier this month, home minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Saturday the Congress would retain power as the BJP would not even win 50 seats in next year's election to the Legislative Assembly.
He told the media that Mr Amit Shah, who was in the city recently, reportedly told state unit leaders to level false allegation against Congress ministers and leaders in an effort to tarnish their image so that his party could benefit out of it. The Congress would win at least 125 Assembly seats, he added.
Mr Ramalinga Reddy charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with misusing powers to target his opponents. He alleged that the Union government had misused Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate and recently the Election Commission in poll-bound Gujarat beside the Reserve Bank of India during the demonetisation move.
He reiterated that the Union government has resorted to tapping of telephones of state ministers. “Since the BJP came to power in Delhi, it’s been misusing power. Many of Karnataka ministers' phones are tapped,” Mr. Reddy said referring to water resources minister M B Patil’s claim that the Union government was tapping his personal mobile number.
Responding to charges against Congress general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka K.C. Venugopal, in the solar power scam in Kerala, and the demand for his resignation by BJP leaders, Mr. Reddy said "He has filed a defamation suit against the complainant. There is no question of him resigning from the post,” he added.
