Pick a side, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tells JD(S)

BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, speaking elsewhere, also dismissed a tie-up with JDS while JDS state president H D Kumaraswamy too ruled out joining hands with BJP or Congress.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi waves during an election rally in Karnataka | PTI

KOLAR: The constant speculation about which party the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) would support in the upcoming assembly elections on Saturday caught All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Rahul Gandhi's attention on Monday as he asked the JD(S) to pick a side and clarify its stand. He was speaking at a road show at Malur in Kolar district on Monday afternoon.

Gandhi said the JD(S) had to make it crystal clear on whose side they were - either the BJP or the Congress. "JD(S) has to say whether they are Janata Dal secular, or Janata Dal sangh Parivar. Karnataka wants to know," he said. Meanwhile, BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, speaking elsewhere, also dismissed a a tie-up with JDS while JDS state president H D Kumaraswamy too ruled out joining hands with the BJP or the Congress.

Large crowds greet Rahul

Gandhi arrived in Malur on Monday morning and was greeted by large crowds. During the road show, he rode a bicycle and carried a fake cylinder as a protest against increased fuel prices. Gandhi is scheduled to visit Hoskote, Doddaballapur, Devanahalli and Chikkaballapur later in the day.

Gandhi said the Karnataka elections pitted the Congress Party and Basavanna on one side and BJP, RSS and Narendra Modi on the other. Continuing his attack on Modi over alleged corruption in the BJP, Gandhi said, "Modi talks about corruption, but shares the stage with Yeddyurappa and others who were in jail. And now the BJP wants to get a team of Reddys into the Vidhan Sabha. The Reddys stole Rs 35,000 crore from Karnataka. I ask Modi - why don't you tell them why have you chosen must corrupt people as candidates."

Gandhi posed questions regarding increased fuel prices and not bringing fuel under GST. He asked what Modi, being the Prime Minister of the country, had done for Karnataka and its farmers in the past four years. He claimed if Modi wanted, he could have waived loans of the entire country's farmers, and said the Congress would waive Karnataka's farmers' loans after winning the Karnataka elections.

Gandhi also brought up Gujarat, and alleged that Modi had carried or privatisation of all colleges which had made education expensive. "A minimum of Rs 15 lakh is needed for a course there. Here in Karnataka, we have provided travel subsidies to everyone and Indira Canteens are being opened in every town. Tell me one scheme Modi has introduced for the poor in the four years he has been the Prime Minister," he said.

Attacking Yeddyurappa, he said his government had destroyed Karnataka and had made women afraid to venture out. He demanded that Modi should tell the people how many times Yeddyurappa had been to jail, and how much he had stolen.

The AICC President said Modi might prostrate before Basavanna's statue, but does not follow his adage of "nadidante nude." He said the PM prostates before Ambedkar too, but was doing something against Ambedkar's values every day. "Modi was silent when Rohit Vemula died, when Dalits were killed in Bihar, UP, Maharashtra and Gujarat. He was even silent when his Ministers said they would change the constitution, but I want to tell you that neither Modi, or RSS or the BJP can touch the country's constitution."