Chitradurga/Raichur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday fired a barrage of bards at the ruling Congress in poll-bound Karnataka and labelled it as a "deal party" which was losing its relevance in the country.
Adding more fire-power to the BJP's campaign in the poll-bound state, the PM said that no can save the Congress, which will be completely wiped out from the country very soon.
PM Modi also blamed the Congress for "distorting history" as part of a conspiracy to divide the society.
The PM fired these barbs at the Congress party while addressing mega BJP rallies in Chitradurga and Raichur, during which he flayed the Siddaramaiah government for celebrating the "jayantis of sultans" (birth anniversaries of Muslim rulers) for the sake of "vote bank politics".
He was apparently referring to the Siddaramaiah government's controversial decision of celebrating "Tipu Jayanti" every year on November 10, commemorating Tipu Sultan, the legendary 18th-century ruler of Mysore.
While talking about rampant corruption in Karnataka, PM Modi accused the Congress of protecting the corrupt, adopting a divide-and-rule policy and making false promises.
Attacking the ruling side, PM Modi said that Congress has the only agenda of "abusing Modi."
Listing out a string of electoral defeats of the Congress, including those in Maharashtra and Tripura, he said, "From every corner of the country, the Congress has gone".
"...And in Karnataka?" he asked the crowd, which said the Congress will be ousted from power in the southern state as well.
"Now they cannot survive. No one can save the Congress now. For 70 years they have misled and be-fooled the people," PM Modi said, as he continued his campaign blitz across Karnataka where the party is heavily banking on him.
#WATCH PM Modi says in Hubbali, "Tell me by switching on the light of your mobile phones. Will you visit door-to-door? Will you make people vote for 'lotus'? Will you form BJP government in Karnataka? Will you form new #Karnataka?" Audience turn on the flashlights of their phones pic.twitter.com/7gJqSJSuvh
— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2018
Earlier, at his rally in Chitradurga, PM Modi slammed a minister, facing corruption charges, without naming him directly. "The Congress is a party that neither has dil (heart) nor is it pro-Dalit. It is a deal party," he said.
Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the PM said he always keeps character certificates ready in his suitcase. "Whenever an allegation of corruption against a minister is made, he immediately takes out a character certificate, writes the name and tells the people he is honest.
"The time has come to bid farewell to the Congress party that is not interested in your welfare. Make it a clean sweep for the BJP and send this chief minister home as he only goes around giving clean chits," Modi told the crowd.
Accusing the Congress of side-lining stalwarts like BR Ambedkar and undivided Congress president and former Karnataka chief minister S Nijalingappa, he said the party was interested in promoting only one family and naming "thousands of schemes" after them.
At Raichur, he said the Congress' "new mantra is spreading lies".
The Congress has realised its "vote bank politics is shaken" and, therefore, it has started a campaign for "misleading and spreading lies" among Dalits, and asked them to be aware, Modi said.
Among other charges, the Prime Minister accused the Congress of disrupting the proceedings in Parliament as it feared he was "gaining the trust of the people by completing his works successfully one after the other".
The Karnataka elections were a contest between the Congress' "misdeeds and people's aspirations," the PM said.
"On one side is the BJP with the mantra of 'sab ka saath sab ka vikaas (together with all development for all). On the other side is the Congress party that believes in doing everything for one family," he said.
While the BJP was fighting against the corrupt system, the Congress protects the corrupt, he alleged. The BJP was progressing in politics with the"blessings of people", while the Congress was dividing people, creating the rift between brothers and following a divide-and-rule policy, PM Modi said.
PM Modi even asked Congress to give an account of its work in Karnataka in the last five years.
The state goes to polls on May 12. The counting of votes will take place on May 15.
(With PTI inputs)
