PM Modi calls Karnataka govt ‘Seedha-Rupaiah’ sarkar; Rahul says BJP has fielded entire Gabbar Singh gang

READ | Rahul Gandhi releases ‘Mr Modi’s report card’ on agriculture

“After surgical strikes, our Army Chief was called a ‘goon’ by the Congress. In our country, has even an uneducated person committed the sin of calling our brave soldiers goons. A newspaper said that Pakistan had to remove casualties on their side in trucks after the surgical strikes. This was the bravery our soldiers showed and the Congress said ‘Modiji show us the evidence of this’,” the PM said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP leaders S M Krishna, Ananth Kumar, Sadananda Gowda and others during a public rally in Bengaluru on Thursday. (PTI)

Calling the Siddaramaiah government a “gold medalist in corruption”, Modi said the money spent in Karnataka was only benefitting the middlemen, contractors and aides of the ruling party instead of the public. “Because of this seedha rupaiah government, Karnataka is immersed in debt. People are not being benefited from the money being spent in Karnataka. The state is benefiting middlemen, contractor and the aides of ruling party,” Modi said.

The fact that crime is on the rise in Bengaluru did not escape the PM’s radar. Modi said that from a “computer capital”, Bengaluru was turning into a crime capital under the Congress. “The state government is incapable of controlling the situation. The Congress is trying to bring a culture of chaos here. While the Centre is working towards promoting ‘Ease of Doing Business’, the Congress was ensuring ‘Ease of Doing Murder’,” the PM said.

BJP supporters at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally on Thursday. (PTI)

The PM’s remarks though were not off the mark. According to NCRB data, Bengaluru is next only to Delhi in crimes and has seen a rise of 28 per cent in murders and kidnappings.

While the BJP has faced much heat over the Kathua gang rape and murder case involving an eight-year-old Bakherwal girl, Modi on Thursday tried to wriggle out of it by hitting out at the Congress over crime against women in Karnataka. “Women safety is one of the biggest concerns in Karnataka. Crimes against women are on the rise under the Congress government,” the PM said.

Claiming that the Congress was spreading “lies” by accusing the BJP of being anti-Dalit and anti-Muslim, the PM said, “When we got the opportunity, we elected a Muslim – Dr Kalam as the President; we elected a Dalit – Shri Kovind as the President.” The PM also alleged that Congress misled the Dalits by not making Mallikarjun Kharge its chief minister after the last assembly elections. “The Congress is seeking votes of Dalits. Khargeji is a big leader of the Congress. In the last election, the Congress promised they will make him the chief minister. But he was sidelined. See, how they misled the Dalits,” the PM said.

BJP supporters at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally on Thursday. (PTI)

Seeking to turn the tables on Congress for its criticism of BJP over giving tickets to Reddy brothers, Modi said, “The honesty of Bellari is being insulted…as if only thieves and looters live in Bellari.”

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi continued to castigate PM Modi over the issue, saying that after introducing Gabbar Singh Tax (GST), the BJP has fielded the entire gang of Gabbar Singh. “There is Gabbar, Sambha, Kalia, and all of them….the Reddy brothers gang, which was in jail….You are trying to get them inducted into Assembly, and you tell the country that you are fighting against corruption,” the Gandhi scion said.

Rahul Gandhihe asked Deve Gowda to explain whether it had formed a secret alliance with the BJP. (Twitter/INC)

While Modi asked asked people not to “waste” their votes by backing JD(S) as it was going to finish “a distant third” in the elections, the Congress president asked Deve Gowda to explain whether it had formed a secret alliance with the BJP or fighting the Karnataka elections independently.

Earlier in the day, Congress gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi an ‘F’ for the Centre’s contribution to the agricultural sector in Karnataka. Tweeting out statistics under the title “Mr Modi’s Report Card”, Congress said the PM had not contributed to the Congress-led state government’s Rs 8,500 crore farm loan waiver or towards the minimum support price scheme for farmers.