3 min readBengaluruMay 3, 2023 03:09 AM IST
First published on: May 2, 2023 at 01:52 PM IST
Heating up the Karnataka poll campaign with a frontal attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that the party has a “history of appeasement of terror and terrorists” and “tears welled up in the eyes” of its “tallest leader” – a reference to Sonia Gandhi – “on learning of the death of terrorists in the Batla House encounter in Delhi”.
Maintaining that the BJP has “broken the back” of terrorism in the country, Modi, addressing rallies in Chitradurga and Hospet, described the Congress manifesto promise to ban Bajrang Dal as “locking up” Lord Hanuman.
He said it was unfortunate that the “Congress, in its manifesto, has decided to lock up Lord Hanuman” on the day he was paying respect to the land of Lord Hanuman.
“First they (Congress) locked up Lord Ram and now they have vowed to lock up those who chant Jai Bajrang Bali. It is the misfortune of the country that the Congress had a problem with Lord Ram and now it has difficulty with those who say Jai Bajrang Bali,” he said.
He said when the surgical strike and the (Balakot) air strike took place, the Congress raised questions on the ability of the armed forces. “In Karnataka too, the Congress has promoted terror in the state. The BJP has broken the back of terror and ended the game of appeasement,” he said.
“I want to alert and warn you. The people of Karnataka should be aware of both Congress and JD(S). They appear to be two different political parties, but are one due to their actions. Both are dynastic, promote corruption and follow politics of dividing society,” he said, adding that the priority of the two parties was not to develop the state. The “future of your children” is not what they are worried about, he said.
In Sindhanur in Raichur district, Modi took a swipe at Congress leader Priyank Kharge for calling him “nalayak”.
Describing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the “opening batsman”, he said Kharge, being an experienced leader, “called Modi a snake” to make one (Gandhi) family happy. “Then his son (Priyank) took over. Whatever the ‘layak’ father said, the ‘layak’ son pursued it further,” he said.
He said the Congress was making tall promises because the party knows that people of Karnataka will not vote it to power. “These guarantees will empty state coffers. If they have to fulfil these guarantees, it will be at the expense of development works in the state,” he said.
Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections, in Hospet, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (PTI Photo) 
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