As the battle for Karnataka heats up, PM Modi said at an election rally in Bidar that the Congress has called him 91 different names. In response, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that PM Modi has been playing the victim card in Karnataka because "he leaves the dirty tricks to Shah and Yogi to polarise."
In a tweet, the Congress general secretary wrote: "The PM's first day of campaigning in Karnataka is a story of 3 DEs. 1. Double Engine 2. DEspair 3. DEsperation. His speeches were full of Only Nataka, nothing concrete for people of Karnataka."
"Predictably PM Modi has begun his much-delayed Karnataka campaign by playing the victim card, pleading for a completely discredited so-called ‘double engine’ sarkar and abusing Congress. These will be his tired themes no doubt as he leaves the dirty tricks to Shah & Yogi to polarise," Ramesh said.
The BJP and Congress are fighting on several fronts in Karnataka, with Mallikarjun Kharge comparing PM Modi to a snake, a BJP MLA calling Sonia Gandhi 'vishkanya', Amit Shah threatening riots if the Congress does not do it, the Congress urging the Election Commission to bar Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath from campaigning in the state, and so on.
On Saturday, PM Modi claimed that someone compiled a list of all the abuses directed at him by the Congress. "Congress people have abused me 91 times with various types," PM Modi said.
"Congress' history is one of insulting those who work for the poor and the country." I am not the only one who has been targeted in this manner. They ran a campaign saying 'Chowkidar chor hai,' then 'Modi Chor,' then 'OBC Community are chor,' and now that election season has begun in Karnataka, they have the audacity to call my Lingayat brothers and sisters chor. People in Congress listen with open ears, and whenever you have abused someone, they have punished you in such a way that you have been unable to bear it. Karnataka has decided to respond to the abuse this time," the prime minister said.