Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said the frequency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tours of poll-bound Karnataka was proof that the BJP feared losing the elections.
“The Prime Minister has been here for about 15 days. He visited before the elections (were declared) and then again another five days. He will be here again on May 6,” Kharge told an election rally in Shorapur, Yadgir district in north Karnataka, on Thursday.
Modi is set to visit the state for three days from Saturday. While a 36km roadshow is planned for Saturday and Sunday when he would cover 17 of the 28 Assembly constituencies in Bangalore, he is expected to tour other constituencies as well.
A BJP source told The Telegraph that Modi had already visited Karnataka three times, each time for two days, after the elections were declared. The upcoming visit will be his last before the May 10 elections.
“Has any Prime Minister come here so much in the past?” Kharge asked the audience, who cheered him on. “When a Prime Minister goes around a state (for campaigning for a state election) so much, you can understand that they (the BJP) have lost their courage. Otherwise, will he tour the state so much?”
While Modi made a number of visits to Karnataka before the elections were announced to inaugurate several projects including Terminal 2 of the Bangalore International Airport and a redone railway station, the frequency increased after the declaration of the polls. The main star campaigner of the BJP, Modi held a roadshow in Bangalore North on Saturday followed by a massive rally in Channapatna as part of his campaign in Old Mysore. The BJP is heavily depending on Modi’s popularity and the double-engine poll plank to buck anti-incumbency.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had on Monday slammed Modi for not taking the names of his party’s state leaders and maintaining the focus on himself. “Whenever I make a speech I normally take the names of our state leaders, including former chief minister (P.C.) Siddaramaiah and (state president) D.K. Shivakumar. Why doesn’t Modi respect his own party leaders?” Rahul had asked at a rally in Arsikere in Hassan district.
Kharge slammed Union home minister Amit Shah for saying Karnataka would witness riots if Congress was elected to power. “Gujarat, UP and other states have seen riots. There have been no riots in Karnataka,” he said. Addressing a rally at Terdal in Bagalkot, Shah had warned the people of Karnataka that the state would be afflicted by communal riots if the Congress was elected to power.
Kharge reminded Shah and the BJP that “the people of Karnataka are peace-loving and follow the principles of Buddha, (12th-century reformer saint) Basava and (B.R.) Ambedkar”. “Karnataka’s people take everyone along and there has been no rioting here. They come and say that there will be riots if the Congress comes to power. Everyone works and lives together here,” he added. Kharge reminded the people that the BJP has been interfering with individuals’ right to clothing, food and worship. “They say you should not wear this,” he said, covering his head with a scarf, indicating the hijab.
The Congress president said he would soon talk to the election commissioner about installing CCTV cameras at all sensitive booths in the state. “Please fix CCTV cameras at all sensitive booths so that you can identify anyone creating trouble.”
