DAVANAGERE/TUMAKURU: BJP leaders put an united front at Sira with party national president JP Nadda, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor BS Yediyurappa blowing the poll bugle on Friday, while opposition leader Siddaramaiah’s “puppy” remark continued to be the bone of contention.
“It’s an insult to the people of Karnataka that an incumbent CM has been insulted by a former CM. I am sure that people will teach Siddaramaiah and Congress a lesson in the Assembly polls,” Nadda said.
Bommai said Siddaramaiah should not presume he is a tiger. “People have a magic wand that can transform a tiger into a rat,” he said.
BJP will prove its loyalty to the people by including the Kunchitiga Vokkaliga community in the Centre’s OBC list and Kadugollas will be given the ST status. Karnataka has been an innovation hub and has attracted Rs 90 lakh crore in investments during the GIM, Nadda said, adding that the state has also bagged the top spot in attracting foreign direct investment.
The work on the four-lane Tumakuru-Tiptur highway, which is a part of the Bengaluru-Honnavar NH-206 project, is under way, while the work will start soon on the newly-commissioned Tumakuru-Davanagere rail route, he said.
“UPA had meted out a step-motherly treatment to the state when Siddaramaiah was chief minister, while Yediyurappa and Bommai governments have worked in tandem with Centre for development,” he said.
Since Narendra Modi took over as prime minister, there has been a change in the political culture of the country, said Nadda in Davanagere. “The previous UPA government was a conglomeration of parties which were backing dynastic rule, and believed in vote-bank politics. Modi not only challenged dynasty politics, caste equations, vote bank politics, but also ensured the mantra of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, which transformed the political culture in India,” he said. “India tackled the pandemic efficiently, building everything from scratch, and now, we are capable of handling any pandemic,” he asserted.
NADDA LATE, VALMIKI MUTT SEER LEAVES
Davanagere: The seer of Valmiki Mutt Prasannanda Swamiji refused to meet BJP national president JP Nadda as he was late. Jagaluru MLA SV Ramachandra repeatedly assured the seer that Nadda will arrive soon, but he refused to wait and left. However, Nadda went to the mutt and paid his obeisance at the memorial of former seer, and then arrived in Davanagere to attend a convention. On Friday, Nadda visited Kuruba community Swami, Niranjananda Puri swami at Belludi Mutt. Niranjananda Puri broached the issue of inclusion of Kurubas into the ST category, to which, Nadda said the BJP will stand by the community.