HUBBALLI: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah was on Wednesday greeted by a group of supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising slogans in support of Modi, in Devanur village of Kundgol. Siddaramaiah was on a door-to-door campaign for the assembly seat.
This sparked tension among the Congress supporters present in large numbers, who started shouting anti-Modi slogans. Amid the sloganeering, the situation grew tense as party workers got into a minor scuffle. Police intervened and ensured that no untoward incident took place.
Due to this tension, police had to cancel the rally of BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, scheduled to be held in the evening. However, the leader visited the houses of voters and sought support for the party candidate in Kundgol.
Earlier, a war of words broke out between BJP and Congress leaders in Kundgol, with Eshwarappa alleging that Congress leaders and supporters of Siddaramaiah are only interested in their leader becoming chief minister, when the state is reeling under drought.
Replying to this, minister D K Shivakumar said that it was a cheap remark and shows the culture of the BJP. At a rally in Kundgol, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that it’s time to decide whether the country needs the Constitution or Manusmriti, the ancient legal text.
“In the past five years, Modi has spoken for only 24 hours in Parliament. The BJP and RSS are fighting elections on their ideology. But we are fighting elections on a secular ideology,” he said.