BJP leaders are no custodians of temples: Dinesh Gundu Rao

By questioning AICC president Rahul Gandhi's visit to temples, the BJP is insulting Hindu religion, said KPCC Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme organised to mark the silver jubilee of an amendment to Panchayat Raj Act, as organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sanghatane here on Saturday, he said, "Rahul Gandhi, during his padayatra, had visited Kedarnath. During his Hyderabad visit, he had visited temples and masjids. The BJP leaders have not taken a contract of Hindu religion and cannot claim to be the custodian of temples."

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has not been invited for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official programme in Mysuru, he said. The PM is indulging in cheap politics by violating the protocol, he said. "BJP national president Amit Shah had made false allegations during his visit to Karnataka in the past. At least now he has to present the facts. Let him not incite communal hate and disturb peace in the region during his visit to the coastal district," Rao said.

He said RSS and Hindu Maha Sabha leaders, who have not sacrificed for the country, have no moral right to speak about the Congress.

Peace was restored in Kashmir during the UPA regime. Now, there is unrest in Kashmir, he added.

Later in the programme, he said that the state government, led by Siddaramaiah, has steered the state on the path of development in the past four-and-a-half-years.

Stating that the Siddaramaiah-led state government is attempting to build a model state, Rao said that the BJP is trying to defame the state's name.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is emerging as a national leader who can take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi himself has told in the Parliament that Karnataka ranks topmost in the generation of employment in the country.

He said that the growth rate of the state is 8.5%. If the Centre had not implemented note ban and GST, then the growth rate would have touched 9.5%, he said.