CM Siddaramaiah's mention of Hitler irks BJP members

BJP lawmakers on Friday objected to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's reference to Adolf Hitler in the Legislative Council because they took it as a dig at their party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Siddaramaiah mentioned Hitler during his reply to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address in the upper house.

Siddaramaiah was trying to explain the essence of humanity.

"We mustn't build walls between humans. The caste system is vertical; the one on top is superior. That was Hitler's undoing," Siddaramaiah said. "Hitler said Germans were most superior and Jews inferior. Finally, he died by suicide," he said.

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What irked the BJP lawmakers was Siddaramaiah's attempt to draw a parallel. "These BJP people...I've told them several times...Don't do all this, saying you are superior and your religion is superior. All religions are equal. Because we have a vertical society, Basavanna tried to create a horizontal society," he said.

BJP MLC YA Narayanaswamy countered Siddaramaiah by raking up Emergency. "The CM referred to Hitler. I want to remind you that it was your party's PM who insulted the Constitution. You know what happened. So, don't preach to us," he said.

Siddaramaiah rose to ask what the problem was with him mentioning Hitler. "Why are you (BJP) getting angry if I speak about Hitler?" he said.

BJP's Bharathi Shetty said, "You are our CM. So, speak like one. How can we tolerate if you speak like Hitler?"

Senior BJP MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary sought to discredit Siddaramaiah's secular credentials. "The CM says he's secular and accepts the cap of one particular colour. But he refuses to wear a bandana that is saffron," he said.

During the debate, Siddaramaiah said PM Modi's popularity is waning. "Karnataka election was the best example of that. The PM visited the state 28 times. What was the result? I'd still advise the BJP to stop depending on Modi," he said.

BJP members refuted Siddaramaiah's claim. The CM retorted: "I agree that he's the tallest leader. What I meant was that his popularity is declining."

Siddaramaiah spoke for over three hours amid repeated disruptions by the BJP. Agitated over Siddaramaiah's frequent attacks on the union government, BJP MLCs walked out, accusing the government of defaming the Modi administration by making use of the Governor's speech.