Ad on Congress govt's 'failures': BJP slams govt over defamation case

Bengaluru: The BJP has called the defamation case filed by the government against the BJP over an ad published by the latter over the ‘Congress dispensation’s failure in 2 years’ as ‘directionless’ and a sign of ‘weak leadership’. 

BJP general secretary incharge of the party affairs in Karnataka Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal on Wednesday challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for an open debate with BJP state president B Y Vijayendra on the issues raised by the Opposition.

Agarwal told reporters, “In a democracy, allegations and counter-allegations are part of political discourse. Facts should be countered with facts and logic with logic. This could perhaps be the first instance globally where a ruling party files a defamation suit and drags the Opposition to court”.

He said, “If Siddaramaiah believes our claims are false, let him accept our challenge and come for a the debate. We are ready”.

The BJP leader said, “We want the government to continue with this case for as long as it wants. We are ready to face it legally and will provide all necessary documents to the court. This case could potentially set the stage for Assembly elections as early as 2025, instead of 2028”.

“Their national leader (Rahul Gandhi) is brainless and whoever comes under his influence simply mimics his brand of politics,” Agarwal said. He accused the Congress of using legal threats to suppress fact-based political criticism and reiterated that the BJP stood firmly by its allegations. “We are not afraid, our charges are backed by documents and facts,” the BJP leader said. “If the Congress had any issue with our facts and figures, they should have countered them in the people’s court, not in a law court. In a democracy, that is the appropriate forum”.

Citing a recent survey, Agarwal said public opinion was shifting decisively in favour of the BJP. He contrasted the 2023 Assembly poll results — where Congress won 135 seats —with the 2024 Lok Sabha election outcome, where BJP led in 135 Assembly segments under the joint leadership of PM Modi and Vijayendra.