Bengaluru Turned Into A "Valley Of Sin": PM Modi Attacks Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: On his election campaign in Karnataka, Prime Minister Modi's final stop on Thursday was in Kengeri on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The rally was a crowded one as the prime minister spoke of issues he hoped would resonate with voters of the city that has been variously described as the IT city, India's Silicon Valley and the Garden City.

PM Modi charged the ruling Congress in the state with destroying all of it.

"Congress attempted to change Bengaluru, a city of beauty, learning and cosmopolitan character into a centre of urban decay, crime and chaos," PM Modi said, lashing out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his many "gifts" to the city.

It was PM Modi's sixth rally in Bengaluru that accounts for 28 seats in the assembly's 224; far too many to be ignored. But Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not let the charges go uncontested and on Twitter, swiftly listed how, according to him, the city had changed for the better.

In his Bengaluru rally, PM Modi had accused the Congress government of ruining the reputation of the city built over years by its young residents.

People had made Bengaluru into India's "Silicon Valley" but the Congress government turned it into a "Valley of Sin".

"Bengaluru was known as Garden City. They are in the race to make Bengaluru a garbage city... Youth worked hard to make Bengaluru the computer capital.... They have converted Bengaluru to crime capital", he said. 

The crimes in question included a reference to the mass molestation of women on New Year's Eve 2016. And the arrest of the son of sitting Congress legislator NA Haris was also raised. 

PM Modi said "safety of women a concern in Karnataka... People used to celebrate New Year in Goa and Bengaluru but pictures on social media put us all to shame".

The city's struggling infrastructure has been much derided. PM Modi added his critique. 

"There have been so many deaths in the city due to potholes," he said, recalling the project to build a "steel bridge" later scrapped by the government under public pressure.

Congress government turned it into 'Steal bridge'... They did nothing to put an end to corruption in the state," he said. He asked why the state government hadn't utilised the funds given to it to improve infrastructure.

The Congress, PM Modi said, had turned the city of lakes into a city of burning lakes. "Photos of the Bellandur lake with froth and fire show the misrule of the government," he said.

But the Siddaramaiah government and the Congress wasn't the only one on his radar through the day.

PM Modi had earlier, perhaps in response to cynical comments following his praise of former prime minister, HD Deve Gowda - a potential kingmaker in these polls - also dismissed the Janata Dal Secular's chances. It was also a pitch to urge people who might be inclined to vote against the Congress to support the BJP, instead of Deve Gowda's party. PM Modi said sensible voters would not vote for the JDS because it cannot form the government or come to power and change Karnataka's future.

In a series of tweets, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah delivered a sharp comeback, calling "the PM failing to speak like a Prime Minister, time and again" a disappointment.

"Cities around the country are under pressure, particularly the dynamic ones like Bengaluru. But to call it names like crime capital, valley of sin, etc. is an insult to us Bengalureans," he said. 

"Your CM candidate @BSYBJP turned this city into a garbage city (NY Times gave this unfortunate epithet in 2012.)" the Chief Minister tweeted.