It’s surprising to hear senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, call Mr. Modi a crusader of corruption, said district in-charge Minister U.T. Khader here on Sunday.
Talking to presspersons, Mr. Khader said, “Mr. Poojary is our senior leader. It’s surprising to hear him praise Mr. Modi. It is Mr. Poojary who made us aware of the faults of Mr. Modi. He was a vocal critic of Mr. Modi,” he said.
Mr. Khader was commenting of the recent statement of Mr. Poojary commending Mr. Modi’s action against corruption and stating that the latter become the Prime Minister for another five-year term.
When asked about BJP supporters trolling a video of Mr. Poojary making the statement on social media, Mr. Khader said, “These are the same people who had abused Mr. Poojary during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. They are now misusing his statement,” he said.
Mr. Khader said the Congress and JD(S) workers will work together for the victory of the Congress candidate in Dakshina Kannada. Similarly, Congress activists will work for victory of the JD(S) candidate in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituencies. They are resolving differences among party workers to ensure victory of maximum candidates from Karnataka, he said.
Among the contenders for the party ticket from Dakshina Kannada are former district in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai; former Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake; District Minority Cell president Kanachur Monu; MLC Ivan D’Souza; and South Canara District Central Cooperative Bank Chairman M.N. Rajendra Kumar, Mr. Khader said.