Modi asks people to oust Cong; Rahul takes Gabbar Singh Tax jibe

Karnataka Assembly polls to be held on May 12 are crucial for both the ruling Congress and the BJP. It’s on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has addressed rallies in Kalaburgi, Ballari and in Bengaluru slammed Congress for false promises to the people of Karnataka. A few kilometres at Bidar, Congress president Rahul Gandhi questioned Modi and asked him why he was silent on corruption. Rahul said, “Gabbar Singh Tax shut all businesses but you remain quiet about your friend Amit Shah's son.”

"You made fun of me but you have still not answered my questions. Why were you silent when Nirav Modi ran away? You did not answer about BS Yeddyurappa, who is a corrupt man and your Chief Ministerial candidate," he added. "You talk about fighting corruption, but your Chief Ministerial candidate is BS Yeddyurappa”, he taunted Modi.

With less than 10 days to go for elections BJP is betting big on Modi to fight the Congress and its appeasement politics to the hilt. The saffron party has also brought UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Karnataka to counter the Congress. Karnataka which is seen as a preamble to 2019 general elections both the Congress and the BJP have heightened their campaign blitzkrieg. Rahul slammed Modi for personal attacks and said personal attacks on him were unbecoming of a person holding high office.

Rahul said "Whenever Modi ji is afraid... he launches  personal attack on a person. He will talk ill of the person. Will talk wrong of the person. That is the difference between me and him." “Let him speak anything about me, whether it is wrong or right. It will not make any difference. He is the PM of India and I will not launch a personal attack against him."

Rahul questioned Modi for giving tickets to Ballari Reddy brothers.He said "Are you not trying to induct the Reddy brothers into the Assembly? Yes or no. Nirav Modi ran off with Rs 30,000 crore. What have you done on that front? Why was your mouth shut?" Congress chief also took the Gabbar Singh Tax jibe and said Modi’s war on corruption was false. In a taunting tone Congress chief said “You brought Gabbar Singh Tax but this time you have gone even further. You have fielded the entire gang of Gabbar Singh. There is Gabbar, Sambha, Kalia, and all of them.... Reddy brothers gang, which was in jail....You are trying to get them inducted into Assembly, and you tell to the country that you are fighting against corruption."

However Prime Minister addressing mammoth rallies slammed Congress and asked people to save the State by throwing out the Congress Governmnet. He invoked nationalism to attack Congress and Rahul Gandhi at Kalaburgi which is home turf of Congress leader Mallikharjuna M Kharge. His son Priyank Kharge is contesting from one of the constituencies there. Modi accused Congress of disrespecting Vandematram and insulting the Indian army. 

Modi said “They have questioned veracity of surgical strike against Pakistan. Congress would rather prefer our soldiers go with cameras and not guns! But then, this is expected considering how their own senior leader behaved on stage when 'Vande Mataram' was being sung." "Forgetting the national heroes, patriots and history is the nature of a family in the Congress. (Jawaharlal) Nehru and V K Krishna Menon insulted General (KS) Thimayya, who had to resign. They neglected General (K M) Cariappa," Modi said.

Invoking Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Prime Minister said the independent India's first Home Minister, was instrumental in forcing the Nizam of Hyderabad, who controlled the region where Kalaburagi is located, to accede to the country. "But one family in the Congress loses its sleep whenever Sardar Patel's name crops up," he said.

He attacked the family and said "This party (Congress) only knows how to prostrate before the members of one family. But we have decided to construct memorials to the tribals who fought against the British since 1857 to 1947 when India became independent."

In the campaign trail in Karnataka which is crucial, both Modi and Rahul taken the election rhetoric to a new high. They also fired off missiles at each other indicate the importance of Karnataka polls.

At Ballari Modi charged Siddaramaiah for not having a mining policy in the State. "Look at the rising illegal mining in State. Congress Government here couldn't even frame a strong mining policy. Karnataka has a 'Sidda-Rupaiah Sarkar'. It has created a debt-burden for the State," he said.

“Congress never promoted the textile sector and cloth industry in Karnataka. We have formulated a new Textile Policy which will significantly benefit the sector as well as generate employment opportunities for people” he added.

He accused Congress of doing votes bank politics to divide communities. He said “The Congress does vote-bank politics. They divide people on the grounds of caste. They are insensitive towards the tribal communities and the OBCs. We wanted OBC Commission to get Constitutional status but the Congress did not let it happen.”

“Congress divides people on the lines of dalits, Muslims. See the way they treated S Nijalingappa ji. When we got the opportunity, we elected a Muslim - Dr. Kalam as the President, we elected a Dalit - Shri Kovind as the President” he added.

Modi said "Congress government in Karnataka is in 'sleep mode.' They didn't spend funds Centre allocated for development of state. We wanted OBC Commission to get Constitutional status but they didn't let it happen. They do vote-bank politics. They divide people on basis of caste”.

“Congress used to term us as 'Mahila Virodhi'. But see now we have a Defence Minister who is a woman and she is a member in the Parliament from Karnataka itself. Congress has ruined the rich history & legacy of Ballari. By defaming Ballari, they have disrespected the people of this district. Your enthusiasm & zeal shows that the Congress is going to lose Karnataka,” Modi added.

In his third rally at IT city  Bengaluru he said the Congress government had ruined the reputation that was built by the city's youth and good samaritans.

He said “people had made Bengaluru into a "Silicon Valley", but the Congress government had turned it into a "Valley of Sin". Congress government has made Bengaluru a garbage city from garden city,” he added.