Irked by delays in action against the prime minister over his election speeches, Congress leader in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala criticized the stranglehold of the government on the Election Commission.

Addressing a press conference in Belagavi on Thursday, Surjewala stated that his party had appealed to the EC to initiate action against the PM for his alleged hate speech, targeting the Muslim community in an election rally in Rajasthan recently. The PM had reportedly stated that the Congress party was planning to distribute the country's wealth to Muslims, whom the PM also called infiltrators and those having more children.

"The EC was earlier elected by a three-member group comprising the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of Opposition, and the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, such an important institution has fallen into the pocket of Narendra Modi today. It's like a pen in Modi's pocket, and he's using it as per his wishes," Surjewala said.

"The election should be fought on major issues like development, education, dams, roads, infrastructure, IITs, IIMs, irrigation, etc., but Modi has an agenda of hate."

When asked why he is issuing such statements that could polarize society, Surjewala said, "The 'loss' is written on Modi's face as he has come to know about his party's imminent defeat in the Lok Sabha election. A leader who is losing will only abuse others and get angry and frustrated. Modi has taken away smiles from the faces of the people in the country. He has snatched the morsel from the people's mouth and also the shine from the poor people's faces. Such leaders will pay for their misdeeds eventually," he added.

Slamming Modi for targeting the Congress party in the ongoing election campaign, Surjewala said the PM was worried about the 200 units of free power supply being extended to 1.18 crore people in the state, 10-kg rice and other grains given free of cost to more than 4.49 crore poor, 35 lakh women traveling free of cost in the state, and stipends being availed by students under the Yuvanidhi scheme. He asked whether involving people in the process of development, which the Karnataka government was doing, was "urban Naxalism or rural Naxalism?" as BJP leaders claimed. "We (Congress government) are making the people owners of the government, making them its shareholders. We are servants of the people, and they are our owners," he said.

Surjewala recalled the recent statements of BJP leaders in the country who claimed that the BJP government would change the Constitution.

He mentioned that many top BJP leaders had already stated that the BJP would change the Constitution if it got more than 400 seats in the coming polls. A BJP MP from Karnataka, Ananth Kumar Hegde, openly stated that the Constitution would be changed. BJP leader Arun Govil from Uttar Pradesh, a close confidant of Modi and to whom Modi managed to get a party ticket, had already told openly that the BJP government would change the Constitution. "Lalu Singh, a close associate of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and party candidate in UP, recently said the Constitution would be changed. Another noted BJP leader, Jyoti Mirda, said the Constitution would be changed," he said.

Condemning the murder of college girl Neha Hiremath on the college campus in Hubballi, Surjewala said he met Neha's family along with several Congress leaders on Wednesday. He said Neha's father, Niranjan Hiremath, was part of his family, and Neha was a daughter to all. "The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state has already decided to constitute a special court to investigate Neha's case expeditiously. The government handed over the case to CID, asking the agency to file a chargesheet at the earliest. By appointing a Special Public Prosecutor, the government is keen on getting the trial completed within 90 to 120 days, and lastly, the government will ask through the Special Public Prosecutor for capital punishment for Neha's killer," he said.

He assured that his government would ensure that such criminals were hanged. "Our government wants the court to hand down the most stringent punishment possible to the guilty so that such crimes are not repeated in the future," he said, adding that the BJP, on the other hand, was playing politics on dead bodies, which was shameful.

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