Amit Shah said BJP would make Karnataka number one in South India within five years. (File)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asked the people of poll-bound Karnataka to repose faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and said the BJP would give such a government that it would rid the State of corruption and make Karnataka number one in South India within five years.
Addressing a public meeting at Sandur, a Congress stronghold, in this district, Mr Shah also took potshots at the M Mallikarjun Kharge-led outfit and the JD(S), dubbing them as dynastic parties which cannot do good for the people.
"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 within five years," Mr Shah said.
Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May. Mr Shah recalled that in the 2018 assembly election, the BJP had emerged as the largest party but fell short of a few seats to form a government. This led to a power play between Congress and the JD(S) and corruption in Karnataka, he said.
"Both Congress and the JD(S) are dynastic parties. Dynastic parties do no good for people in democracy," Mr Shah said.
"I want to tell the people of Karnataka that every vote to the JD(S) will go to the Congress and every vote to Congress will eventually go to Siddaramaiah and his 'ATM government', which was the ATM of Delhi and indulged in corruption," the Minister claimed.
Mr Shah sought to mock the alleged infighting in the Congress camp ahead of the assembly election.
"There is only one post of Chief Minister, for which both Congress state president D K Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah are fighting. There are other aspirants too in the race (in Congress). They will not do good for the people of Karnataka," he said.
Mr Shah said if the people want to do 'Kalyan' (good) to the 'Kalyan Karnataka region', where the programme was held, they should bring the BJP back to power in the state. The Minister cautioned people against the 'divisive Congress' and said only PM Modi can protect India and make the country prosperous.
"On one hand there is PM Modi-led BJP strengthening India, and on the other there is Rahul Gandhi-led Congress linked with 'Tukde-Tukde' gang. You have to make a choice between the two," he said.
Mr Shah alleged that when there was a UPA rule led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi (as UPA Chairperson) in the country for 10 years, Pakistan carried out many attacks inside India, but the then government did not retaliate. After PM Modi formed the government, then also Pakistan attacked India at Uri and Pulwama, but within 10 days surgical and air strikes were carried out inside the neighbouring country and the terrorists were wiped out, the Minister said.
He alleged when the Congress was in power it withdrew 1,700 cases against the Popular Front of India.
Mr Shah alleged that the Congress was stalling the Ram Temple in Ayodhya for years but once Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, he laid the foundation of a grand Ram Temple which is under construction.
Speaking about Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Shah said the Congress, JD(S), and other parties in the opposition were saying that article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, should not be abrogated. However, PM Modi with a stroke of his pen abrogated article 370 and made the state part of India forever, he said.
The Minister said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used to say that there will be bloodbath if the article 370 is abolished. "Let alone bloodbath, there was no one who threw even a pebble there. This is the BJP government," Mr Shah said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)