BENGALURU: The ruling BJP in Karnataka on Saturday celebrated its three years in office, putting out a major show of strength attended by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Minister Smriti Irani among others, with over 2 lakh people said to have participated in the event.
The 'Jana Spandana' (public response) campaign, held in the Rural Bengaluru district also marked Bommai's one year at the helm, and came after suffering three earlier postponements, one of them in the backdrop of the outrage over the killing of a Hindu activist in July.
According to Bommai, two lakh people from various parts of the state attended the party's grand event, held ahead of next year's assembly elections in the southern state.
Irani, Union Minister for Woman and Child Welfare, in her address targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', asking him who has harmed the unity of the country that required the opposition party to take out such a campaign, covering about 3,500 km from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Kashmir.
Making an indirect reference to Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, she took a dig at Gandhi for being in the company of people who allegedly chanted "anti-India" slogans.
"Bharat Jodo march is being taken out under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the prince of Gandhi dynasty but the motive appears more like breaking India," Irani said.
"Rahul Gandhi is on the way to unite India but he should answer first who dared to break India. You make a person a member of your party who had shouted the slogan Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah," Irani said at the event held in Doddaballapura.
She expressed shock over Gandhi's remark in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu that the fight is now against the structure of Indian state.
Irani, who represents Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, said: "With all seriousness, I am making this charge of sedition."
"I am shocked at Rahul Gandhi's statement that he is fighting against the Indian state. You have waged a war against India. I am shocked by your hunger for power," she lashed out.
Gandhi had earlier said during his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' that "you know the role of the CBI, of the ED, of the Income Tax department. So, we are not fighting anymore a political party, we used to fight a political party. Now, the fight is not between one political party and another political party. Now, the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the opposition and everybody understands this."
Irani further charged that during the Congress rule in Maharashtra a terrorist's grave was beautified with marble tiles in Mumbai and that the attacker was responsible for the killing of around 250 people.
She also alleged that when the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fighting against the covid-19 pandemic and succeeded in developing an indigenous vaccine, the Congress was spreading lies asking people not to use it.
She slammed the 'sycophants of Gandhi family' for allegedly using derogatory remarks against President Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal person to hold the highest post in India.
The Union minister charged the Congress could not "digest" the statue of iconic freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose being inaugurated at 'Kartavya Path' in New Delhi on Thursday as the party did not issue any statement favouring the step.
Paying tribute to Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettar, who was killed in Dakshina Kannada on July 26 by Muslim youths, the day the BJP government completed three years in Karnataka, Irani called those who hacked him to death 'coward' and "terrorists."
"Those terrorists who killed Praveen were coward. They attacked him from behind."
She claimed that during the Congress rule, the state got only Rs 2,000 crore under the Finance Commission's grants whereas when the BJP government came to power it gave Rs 5,000 crore.
Irani also said various infrastructure projects including the Highways and suburban Railway started in Karnataka due to the "double engine BJP government", one at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party-led dispensation headed by CM Bommai in the state.
In his address, Bommai said the BJP's party symbol lotus is set to bloom once again in the state, in an apparent reference to the party winning the 2023 polls.
Lashing out at opposition Congress for their 'conspiracy' and 'hunger' for power in 2018 when it formed a coalition government with the JD(S), Bommai said the former came to power through backdoor.
He called the 17 legislators, who defected from the Congress and the JD(S) and resigned from the Karnataka assembly and were disqualified, as 'brave'.
Their defection brought down the coalition government in 2019.
He alleged many scams happened during the Congress rule and many projects existed only on papers resulting in zero execution of work on ground.
Bommai said the Jana Spandana event will be organised in various other parts of the state and challenged the Congress to stop the victory march of the BJP.
"The Jana Spandana, which started from Dodda Ballapura will go to all the places in Karnataka. The lotus will bloom again. If you (Congress) have strength and guts then stop us," the Chief Minister challenged the principal opposition party in the state.
Besides Bommai, BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa, party's state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, and ministers in the government including Health Minister K Sudhakar among others attended the event.
A BJP activist said 5,000 buses were arranged to ferry the party workers, supporters and well-wishers.
A large number of people thronged the venue.
Elaborate security arrangements were made to avert any untoward incident.
Many cooks were toiling since early morning to feed the massive crowd.