BJP national president J.P. Nadda has been told that Karnataka was not living in the “Stone Age” until 2014 after he exhorted the voters of the poll-bound state to make sure his party was elected to power so that they didn’t lose the “blessings” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During a rally in Haveri, north Karnataka, on Wednesday, Nadda had said: “Let Karnataka not be devoid of the blessings of Modiji, which is why I appeal to you to ensure that the ‘kamal (lotus)’ wins and continues the development of Karnataka.”
Nadda’s poll pitch has sparked an uproar with Opposition leaders reminding him that Modi is not God and that Karnataka had seen development projects for years before the BJP came to power.
In a series of tweets, Congress MLA Priyank Kharge told Nadda: “Kannadigas will make you pay heavily for your arrogance. While you appease your master, you insult 6.5 Cr Kannadigas. Stop trying to force your GOD on us.”
“Do you think that Kannadigas lived in Stone Age before Modi became PM? We didn’t have a language or thriving culture, we didn’t havefood, clothes, shelter or electricity? There were no roads, drains, no schools, no universities or no dams? We were all jobless?” the Congress MLA asked.
“Karnataka is an education hub where people from even your state come to study. We have built institutions like IISc, C.V. Raman Institute, DRDO, Nimhans, National Tuberculosis Centre, University of Agricultural Science and many other research and development institutions,” he added
“We also house more than 400 of the Fortune 500 Cos & their R&D Centers. Seven of India’s banks — Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, Karnataka Bank, State Bank of Mysore and Vysya Bank — started here @JPNaddaji,” Kharge tweeted.
“Even before Modiji blessed us with Make in India, we built ITI, BEL, HMT, BHEL, Mangalore Refinery, Mysore Lamps and other major & small-scale industries. We built NAL, HAL where planes and helicopters are being manufactured, we built Isro & we are sending satellites to space,” Kharge added.