"Karnataka Getting Inspired By DMK's Anti-Hindu Political Culture": BJP MP

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya launched a fierce attack on the Congress government in Karnataka, alleging that it is adopting the political culture of the DMK, the ruling party of the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which he said is "anti-Hindu and anti-majoritarian."

In an interview with news agency ANI, the BJP leader, in a sharp attack on MK Stalin's party, said that the DMK "represents everything that is negative and wrong."

"When you look at the kind of politics that the DMK has been practicing, it represents everything that is negative and wrong about the country's political system. It clearly looks like the Congress in Karnataka is getting inspired by certain SOPs that the DMK follows in Tamil Nadu," Mr Surya said.

Invoking the alleged pro-Pakistan slogan incident in the Karnataka assembly, the BJP leader further said, "The rabid anti-Hindu and anti-majoritarian statements and that kind of political culture is something that is also coming to the Congress in Karnataka. We had never before seen 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans heard in Vidhan Soudha. After the election of a Congress MP, the slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' were raised. This was something new to Karnataka and you have not one, not two but five cabinet ministers who came out and defended it in an attempt to mislead people. Once the FSL reports came, they had eggs on their faces."

On February 27, soon after Nasir Hussain's victory march at the Vidhana Soudha, a video clip highlighting the "anti-national" slogans at the victory rally went viral.

As the BJP attacked Congress over this, the ruling government in the state claimed necessary actions would be taken once the video and its audio were scientifically tested at the Forensic Science Lab.

Later, three people were arrested in connection with the incident.

Tejasvi Surya also accused that the single-window corruption system that is in "existence" in Tamil Nadu has now been replicated in Karnataka.

"You go around and ask any builder in Bengaluru - they say that ever since the Congress government came into power in Karnataka, they have set up a single window clearance system where per square feet of developed land, you have to pay Rs 70 to Rs 75 to the concerned people and only upon that payment, their plan sanctions are given and this, again, is a model that is in existence in Tamil Nadu. Now, Congress has brought it to Karnataka," the Bengaluru South added.

On being asked about the allegations of corruption levelled against former Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai, the BJP MP said that the Congress failed to present any evidence against him.

"Well, not a single iota of evidence was presented by the Congress and even assuming that was true, people rejected the BJP in assembly elections," he added.

Notably, the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka are scheduled to take place over two phases, with polling slated for April 26 and May 7, as announced by the Election Commission on March 16.

The BJP has given a ticket to Yuva Morcha chief and MP Tejasvi Surya from Bengaluru South.

Mr Surya is one of the party's youngest MPs, having first contested for Lok Sabha in 2019. Out of a total of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, the BJP won 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)