JOIN USChief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday objected to his Cabinet colleague Ambareesh’s controversial remark comparing him with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
“I can never dream of becoming Modi. Housing Minister Ambareesh’s statement is absurd. But his intention may be good. Modi is aspiring to be the prime minister. I do not have any ambition to go to Delhi,” he said at a function organised to mark the 98th birth anniversary of former chief minister D Devaraj Urs.
Later, at a party event at which former vice-chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dr R Dwarkeenath, was feted, Siddaramaiah said he and Modi were “poles apart.”
“I believe in secularism while Modi is the face of communalism. I am in no way similar to Modi. We are poles apart. Further, I must add that if Modi becomes the prime minister, the country will start burning.
“I am confident that the people of this country are smart. They will bring back the UPA,” he said. Ambareesh on Monday said Siddaramaiah was the Modi of Karnataka and he would shine in national politics.
“The housing minister added that most of his utterances come true as he has a mole on his tongue.”
His statement raised many eyebrows in the Congress. It also caused immense embarrassment to the party, which has been strongly criticising Modi.
Siddaramaiah further said it was not proper to compare him with anybody. “Urs (Devaraj Urs) is Urs and Modi is Modi. Urs was a pro-people leader committed to the welfare of the backward classes. Modi cannot be called pro-people and pro-poor,” he added.
Author Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who was present at the function, also said it was not proper to compare Siddaramaiah with Modi. “The development models of the two leaders are entirely different. Siddaramaiah believes in Anna Bhagya, whileModi believes in Bandawala Bhagya (getting industrial investment),” he said.
Earlier, Congress leader B K Hariprasad had alleged that Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, was the first terrorist of the country. “Godse, who has been part of the Sangh Parivar, can be considered the first terrorist of the country,” he said.