Days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a rally claimed that if the Congress comes to power in Karnataka, the state would be “afflicted by riots”, Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Parmeshwar and DK Shivakumar have filed a police complaint in Bengaluru's High Grounds police station against Shah and organisers of BJP rally for allegedly making "provocative statements, promoting enmity and hatred and maligning opposition," as reported by the news agency ANI. Shah had made these remarks during a public meeting at Terdal in Karnataka's Belagavi district.
"Union Home Minister has said that if Congress comes to power then there will be communal rights. How can he say this? We have filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India on this," Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar said as quoted by ANI.
During a public meeting at Terdal in Belagavi district, the former BJP chief attacked the grand old party and said the development of the state will be on the "reverse gear" if the Congress forms the government. Seeking the people's mandate for "political stability" in Karnataka that would vote on May 10, Shah said that only BJP can lead the state towards 'New Karnataka'.
"If the Congress comes to power, dynastic politics will be at an all-time high and Karnataka will be afflicted with riots,” added Shah, one of the party's key poll strategists and campaigners.
"If Congress comes to power by mistake then corruption will be all time high and there will be 'appeasement',” said Shah, who is on a two-day tour of Karnataka to hold a series of public meetings, roadshows and review meetings with his party leaders.
Shah said the Congress will not benefit anyway from BJP's two major leaders -- former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi who recently joined the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party. "Congress has always insulted the Lingayat community because in its long rule in the state it could give only two Lingayat Chief Ministers – S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil – and both were humiliated and sacked from the party," the senior BJP leader said, as quoted by PTI. Seeking votes on the basis of those leaders who came from BJP showed how bankrupt the Congress is, Shah asserted.
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He said the Congress aligned with the JD(S) to unseat then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. "After unseating Yediyurappa using the JD(S), you want to move forward with the help of some of our leaders but the people of Karnataka, especially those from 'Kittur Karnataka' region in the northern part of the state, will not tolerate it," he said.