Karnataka elections: After Rahul Gandhi's presser comes Amit Shah's rebuttal

On the last day of campaigning for Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress and BJP stalwarts on Thursday fired salvos at each other as they tried to woo the voters in the state, two days ahead of the high-stake assembly polls.

BENGALURU: On the last day of campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress and BJP stalwarts on Thursday fired salvos at each other as they tried to woo the voters in the state, two days ahead of the high-stake assembly polls. It began with a presser that Rahul Gandhi held in which he responded to questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated attacks on him. Rahul argued Modi sees as a threat in him and prime minister's attacks on him are only aimed at "distracting attention". He targetted the prime minister saying he and his party BJP don't understand the term Hindu. Responding to Modi's sarcastic barb at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her foreign origin, Rahul said: "My mother is an Italian. She has lived the larger part of her life in India. She is more Indian than many, many Indians I have seen." "She has sacrificed her life for the country, she has suffered for the country. When Modi makes such comments, it shows the quality of the man. I am happy if he enjoys making such comments, he is welcome." He, through Twitter, also took a swipe at Modi for not holding any press conference in the last four years. Later in the evening BJP President also addressed a press meet but refrained from any personal attack on the Congress chief. He, however, slammed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government and called it a complete failure on all fronts. Shah claimed his party will emerge victorious in the assembly election and would get an absolute majority in the 224-member House. He said the BJP will win over 130 seats. The BJP chief also ruled out any possible tie-up with Janata Dal (Secular) or any other party in Karnataka saying that such a situation will not arise. Shah also hit out at the Congress over the fake voter ID card row. "The Congress wants to win elections in an undemocratic manner... The developments in the last three days have sent a shock wave across India among those who are concerned about strengthening democracy," he said. "The way bogus voter cards were made in a flat... the way counterfoils of forms for inclusion of voters were found, the way colour printers and computers were found there, it tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election." He also alleged that all the development schemes were "stuck like the Bengaluru traffic" as the state government was "not giving the people their due". "In the last five years, more than 3,500 farmers in Karnataka have committed suicide. That is a 173 per cent rise in the farmers' suicide rate. All the development schemes are stuck like the Bengaluru traffic," he said.