Congress tries to breach saffron citadel

NT Correspondent

Udupi / Dakshina: Kannada Congress on Sunday took its ‘Praja Dhwani Yatre’ (March for People’s Voice) to BJP strongholds Udupi and Mangaluru cities, trying to make inroads into the districts.

The grand old party sought to wean youth of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts away from the lure of emotive issues such as communalism and sought to highlight BJP’s corruption, prevailing price rise and Congress own past and promised welfare schemes. Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly Siddaramaiah led the charge in this regard.

“Today, Praja Dhwani Yatre has come to your town. People here on the coast are ahead in terms of education, politically savvy and outgoing. People of this region are engaged in hotel and hospitality businesses across different states and even various countries. However, it pains me to see the youth of this region being sacrificed at the altar of BJP’s malicious Hindutva,” he said.

“BJP is not pro-Hindu. It is pro-Hindutva. I’m a true Hindu, as are DK Shivakumar, Surjewala, BK Hariprasad and Veerappa Moily. However, we are not associated with Hindutva. We align ourselves to Hindu Dharma and Hindus. This is to say we are humanists,” he added.

The former chief minister repeated the usual talking points such as Karnataka State Contractors’ Association (KSCA) Kempanna alleging that commissions for government department works cumulatively amounted to 40 percent, apart from promotion of schemes like Anna Bhagya (fee rice) and Ksheera Bhagya (free milk).

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar also called upon the youth to dissociate with the BJP since their workers had died because in the Kanakapura MLA’s view they had been misguided by the saffron party’s ideology.

“Under BJP rule, innocent minorities and dedicated BJP workers have been murdered. Only the innocent get sacrificed here. Why don’t the children of BJP workers come forward with tridents and clubs to organise the party? They are only sacrificing the children of the poor,” he said.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and its Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Council BK Hariprasad, among other party leaders were present on the occasion.