Congress, for poll benefit in Karnataka, put lives of Indians in Sudan at risk, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, charged the Congress with trying to gain advantage in the Karnataka elections by ‘exposing’ Indians in war-stuck Sudan, through statements and by divulging their locations.

Addressing a public rally in Ballari, Modi said hundreds of Indians, including members of the Hakki-Pikki tribe, were stranded in the conflict zones of Sudan.

The Congressmen, with a hope that if something untoward happens to Indian citizens they can gain advantage in the elections, were issuing statements that could have jeopardised rescue operations.

“With the blessings of Mother Kaveri, we undertook ‘Operation Kaveri’ and brought back Indian nationals. The civil war in Sudan is so intense that even bigger nations have given up hope on rescuing their citizens,” he said.

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The prime minister charged that the Congress, for its vote bank politics, had knelt down before terrorism.

“With the passing of time, there are changes in the way terrorism is manifesting itself. Along with bomb blasts and gunfire, there is a new form of terrorism (without referring to ‘Love Jihad’) that is silently seeping into society. The movie ‘Kerala story’ tried to highlight this, but Congress opposed it,” he said.

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The prime minister said the issues raised by ‘Kerala Story,’ a work based on the terrorists’ deceitful policies and conspiracies, are not just limited to Kerala.

Even the Supreme Court has raised concerns about the issue.

“However, for the sake of vote bank politics, the Congress is opposing the movie and indulging in backdoor political bargaining with people having terror links,” he said.

The Congress nurtures, gives shelter to and surrenders before terror, he said and added that to make Karnataka the number one state, law and order was important.

“Karnataka remaining free from terror is very important and every time BJP acts tough against terror, Congress gets a stomachache,” Modi said.

‘Anti-tribal’

Modi charged that Congress is against tribal communities as it opposed the election of a tribal woman to the post of India’s president.

Incidentally, Ballari is a tribal-dominated district, where four of the five seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

“When we nominated Droupadi Murmu, a tribal woman from Odisha, the Congress instead of supporting her candidature, opposed it.”

The Prime Minister later also held an unscheduled roadshow in Tumakuru.

Addressing a public meeting in Tumakuru, he predicted a thumping victory for the BJP in Karnataka, saying that the crowd that turned out at the unplanned roadshow and at the public meeting here was proof of the party coming out on top in the election.

Criticising Congress leaders for allegedly misleading employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited a few years ago when the Indian Army was deployed on the border, the prime minister said the party was not even talking about the public sector company in this election.

He also claimed that the defence sector was like “a club for the Congress which their close relatives could plunder”.

In an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal and taking away jobs from HAL, Modi said: “Remember the lies they had spread four-five years ago. They tried to mislead the HAL workers. It was done at a time when our Army was deployed on the border. In this election, the Congress leaders are not at all spelling out the name of HAL.”