‘Stay very alert of Congress’: PM Modi cautions Karnataka voters
The PM made references to three incidents: the murder of a Congress corporator's daughter, the cafe blast in Bengaluru, and the Hanuman Chalisa-Azaan row.
Addressing a poll rally in Karnataka's Chikkaballapur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made references to a series of incidents that have taken place in recent days under the state's Congress government, appealing to people to be “alert” of the grand old party.
“The kind of thoughts and ideology being promoted by the Congress government is very dangerous. Our daughters are being attacked, bombs are exploding in markets, and people are being attacked to for listening to religious songs. I urge my brothers and sisters to stay very alert of the Congress,” he said.
The three incidents that the PM referred to were the murder of a Congress corporator's daughter by a male acquaintance who is believed to have stalked her; the March 1 explosion at a popular cafeteria in state capital Bengaluru; and a Hindu shopkeeper being assaulted, allegedly for playing the Hanuman Chalisa while the Azaan was on.
In the assembly election held in May last year, the grand old party ousted the saffron party from power.
In the Lok Sabha elections, which kicked off on Friday, the 28 parliamentary seats in Karnataka will vote in two phases – April 26 and May 7, the second and third legs of the seven-phase nationwide polls. 14 seats will vote in each phase.
The BJP won 25 constituencies in the previous 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with one each going to the Congress, Janata Dal (Secular), and BJP-supported independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh. While the Congress and JD(S) were in alliance then, the latter is now with the BJP. Mandya, the seat won by Ambareesh, will now see a JD(S) candidate: former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, son of ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, the JD(S) president.