Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will form the government with full majority in Karnataka and urged people to repose faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa.
Shah was addressing a public gathering in Sandur at Ballari district in Karnataka and his statement comes at a time when the state is expected to go to polls by May.
“Trust PM Modi and Yediyurappa once, and we (BJP) will give such a government that it will rid Karnataka of corruption and make it a number one state in south India,” Shah said.
Seeking to give a fresh impetus to the party’s preparations for the elections due by May, Shah said, “This time, the BJP will form the government in the state with full majority. Join hands with me, to form a full majority government.”
Taking a swipe at the Congress and the JD(S), Shah said both parties are responsible for rampant corruption in the state.
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“In the 2018 elections, we went to polls under the leadership of Yediyurappa. But we could not form a government, and Congress formed the government with JD(S). Every vote you cast for JD(S) will go to Congress. Congress and JD(S) are responsible for corruption in the state,” Shah said.
Shah alleged that Congress and JDS are dynastic parties and such parties can never work for the welfare of the people.
“We did not get full majority in 2018. Congress and JD(S) are indulging in family politics. There is no development because of this. We request you to give us full majority,” Shah said.
This is the fourth visit of Shah to the poll-bound state in less than two months.
He visited the state on December last year when he attended programmes in Bengaluru and Mandya.
In January-end, he visited Belagavi, and in February, Shah was in Dakshina Kannada, focusing on strengthening the party in coastal Karnataka.
Shah also highlighted the surgical strike carried out by the central government.
“If you vote for BJP, then PM Modi’s power will become stronger. Modi laid the foundation stone of Ram Mandir. Only BJP has the power to go to Pakistan and carry out a surgical strike,” Shah said.
“Kashmir is ours. PM Modi revoked the special status accorded for Kashmir. Congress’s Rahul Gandhi opposed this. He said that if the special status for Kashmir is removed, there will be blood. There was no blood, but there is only peace,” Shah added.
The union home minister also raked up the alleged infighting in the Karnataka Congress for the chief ministerial post.
“Siddaramaiah’s is an ‘ATM government’. Members of the ‘ATM government’ are in Delhi. Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is divided,” he said.
Shah said PM Modi banned the PFI while Congress withdrew cases against the organisation.
“Modi banned PFI… Congress withdrew the cases against PFI. Although Congress ruled for decades, they didn’t do any work”, he said.
After the public meeting, Shah held a core committee meeting in Sandur, with leaders and ticket aspirants of four districts in Bellary division, along with Yediyurappa, people familiar with the matter said.