A day after BJP national president Amit Shah tore into the Congress government in the state, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit back at him by saying that the BJP leader, instead of uttering lies in Karnataka, should reprimand BJP governments condoning rioters opposing the release of film 'Padmaavat'.
Siddaramaiah said that the Centre and the saffron party leadership had turned a blind eye to the continued violence in BJP-ruled states in north India over the film.
He said that the rioters had even violated the Supreme Court ruling. "Instead of reprimanding the chief ministers of these states, Shah came all the way to Mysuru to utter lies. Shah is from Gujarat. I'm the son of Kannada soil. If he criticises me, the people of Karnataka will not remain silent. The more he attacks, the more it will work in my favour," he added.
On BJP's charges that the ruling party was trying to obstruct Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Karnataka on February 4, Siddaramaiah said that his government needn't resort to such "cheap tactics".
Published 26 January 2018, 19:16 IST