PM Narendra Modi has no moral right to speak about graft: Siddaramaiah

HUBBALLI: Narendra Modi should not try to demean the post of the Prime Minister by indulging in low-level politics, chief minister Siddaramaiah said in Koppal on Wednesday.
Responding to the PM's allegations in Davanagere on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah said he should clarify why a Lokayukta was not appointed in Gujarat for nine years during his tenure as chief minister. "Even after four years of becoming Prime Minister, he has not appointed a Lokpal despite a struggle by Anna Hazare," he said.

He added that fraudsters Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi have escaped from the nation. Modi had assured he would safeguard the nation as a watchman but now he has failed in discharging his duty. "So he doesn't have the moral right to speak about corruption. He should be ashamed to have a person (referring to Yeddyurappa) who accepted bribes through cheque on his dais," he said.

Responding to Modi's 'seeda rupaiyya' jibe, Siddaramaiah said such comments are affecting the dignity of his post by making allegations without documents. "I'm not answerable to Amit Shah, but to the people of Karnataka. I have given an account of every single paisa to people through the budget. They know well who killed farmers in Haveri and who said no printer is available to waive off loans of farmers," he added.

In a retort to Modi's 'seedha rupaiyya sarkar' (cash upfront) comment about the Siddaramaiah government, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said NaMo stands for 'Namage Mosa' (we are cheated). "The large-scale fraud in demonetization, implementation of GST under the Modi regime and PNB scam are all evidence of it," he said.

Rao said: "A lot of people, especially the poor, have been put to hardship due to the unscientific decisions like demonetization and hurried implementation of GST.''