Congress is communal party with secular mask: Madhu Bangarappa

JD(S) state youth wing president Madhu Bangarappa said, while the BJP is openly a communal party, the Congress is a communal party with a secular mask.

Addressing media persons, here, on Tuesday, he said, "The BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claim that 28 BJP and Hindu activists have been killed in Karnataka over a couple of years. They do not mention the youth of the minority communities, who have lost their lives in the communal clashes. Are they not our people? Is the BJP playing divisive politics? The Congress leaders are no better. They have been dividing communities on the basis of various parameters," he added.

Taking a dig at AICC president Rahul Gandhi for describing the JD(S) as the 'B' team of the BJP, Madhu said, Gandhi should first see who are sitting beside him. "Those who have taken the affairs of the Congress at present are the 'B' team of the Congress, while the original Congressmen have been relegated to the background. Rahul Gandhi seems to be ignorant of the ground realities. When the JD(S) released the list of candidates for 126 constituencies, there was no sign of dissent in the party. Recently, when the BJP released the list for 72 constituencies, the tremor was felt. Just wait and watch. The release of the candidates list by the Congress would herald the downfall of the party," he said.

Welcoming the efforts of Modi to address the people of Karnataka in Kannada, Madhu said, it was nice to hear the names of the great men of Karnataka from him. "But, he did not make a mention of nearly 1,000-day protest by the people of north Karnataka for Mahadayi River water. Rahul Gandhi was atrocious. Forget speaking in Kannada, he does not even have the eligibility to drink our water. Does he think that Kannada is so cheap for him to butcher it," he asked.

He said, the people of Karnataka are hoping to see a change and are looking at the regional parties as an alternative. "Only the JD(S) is approaching the people with a pro-people agenda. We are telling the people that we will waive farm loans. We will do away with contract system and regularise the services, and the existing vacancy of 2 lakh persons would be filled soon after coming to power," the JD(S) youth wing state president said.

"Siddaramaiah has been claiming that his government has waivedf Rs 8,000 crore farm loans in cooperative banks. However, the Congress government has released only Rs 1,500 crore to the banks. It has promised to release the remaining Rs 6,500 crore in future. It is a 'credit government' (Udri Sarakara)," the JD(S) nominee for Sorab, said.

To a query on his elder sister Geetha Shivarajkumar, he said, she has already clarified that she will not join any other party. "She has already completed a first round of the state tour and would start the second round on Arril 13," he said.

On the occasion, Devaraj, a long-time associate of his father, the late chief minister S Bangarappa, was inducted into the JD(S). He also paid a courtesy visit to the residence of BJP state vice-president V Srinivas Prasad. He said, he sought the support of Prasad in the upcoming elections. Prasad, however, said that both were in different parties and have to abide by the party's principles.