Nalin Kumar Kateel tells BJP cadre to discuss ‘love jihad’, not road work

MANGALURU: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel kicked up a row on Monday by asking his party workers not to engage voters on discussions over roads and drainages (development), but instead tell them that only a BJP government can stop ‘love jihad’ by bringing a law against it.

Addressing party workers at ‘Booth Vijaya Abhiyana’, Kateel lashed out at the Congress and called it a “party of terrorists”. “If (KPCC president) DK Shivakumar becomes the chief minister, then terrorists will have a field day,” he said. Stating that ‘love jihad’ will flourish and laws against cow slaughter and religious conversion will be withdrawn if the Congress comes to power, he said people now have to choose between ‘Nava Karnataka’ and ‘Land of Terrorism’.

Pointing out that Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a bold decision by banning the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) following the murder of BJP worker Praveen Nettaru, Kateel said that if these organisations were not banned then Monappa Bhandary and Harikrishna Bantwal (BJP leaders) would have been dead by now.

He also said that senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be in jail over corruption by the next Assembly election. “Why didn’t you (Congress) raise the issue of ‘40 per cent commission’ and ‘Pay CM’ during the just concluded winter session. You didn’t raise it because Kempanna is in jail. (D. Kempanna is the president of Karnataka State Contractors’ Association who first made the charge of 40% commission against the government). Siddaramaiah shut Lokayuktya whereas we strengthened it. We asked them to lodge complaints with Lokayukya over corruption cases but they didn’t. Tell people that Congress is a corrupt party and Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are the most corrupt,” he said.

Kateel predicted that the BJP would win 150 seats in the state Assembly elections which are 100 days away. “But our victory should be on the basis of our organisational strength. India should culturally transform and for that we should win in booths,” he said.

Exuding confidence that the BJP will sweep all eight seats in Dakshina Kannada district, he said there was huge response to Amit Shah’s tour in Vokkaliga dominated districts of Ramanagar, Hassan and Mandya.