BJP taunts Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra with 'Raahukala' jibe

The BJP on Friday came up with a ‘Rahukaala’ jibe to mock the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“Rahul Gandhi’s is not Bharat Jodo Yatra. It is an exercise to retain the AICC president’s post within the fake Gandhi family,” the BJP said in a series of tweets. It urged citizens to stay away from the march, likening it to the inauspicious Raahukala.

The BJP shared crime statistics to welcome Rahul into Karnataka.

“Crime index (NCRB Report): Tamil Nadu - 422.1, Kerala - 401.4, Rajasthan - 269.6 and Karnataka 172.8. Respected Rahul Gandhi, welcome to Karnataka where crime rate is low. The state doesn’t need your peace mantra,” the BJP said.

Read | Congress will come to power in Karnataka in 2023 polls: Siddaramaiah

The party also tweeted statistics on crimes against SC/ST being lower in Karnataka when compared with the Congress-ruled Rajasthan.

“Diesel rate: Tamil Nadu - 94.71/L, Kerala - 94.84/L, Jharkhand - 94.61/L, Rajasthan - 93.72/L and Karnataka - 87.49/L. Fill up your vehicles in BJP-ruled Karnataka. Otherwise, you may feel the heat of price rise in Congress-ruled states,” the BJP said.

Deriding the march as “Rahul’s luxury container yatra”, the BJP said the “cold war” between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar was back “in full swing”. It further asked Rahul if he was tired of ensuring unity among the two leaders.

Speaking to reporters, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said the Congress had lost in 99% of places visited by Rahul. “Let them do more marches. It’s certain that the Congress will taste defeat,” he said.

Housing Minister V Somanna, who is in charge of Chamarajanagar district, said, “If any work has been done in this district, it’s because of the BJP. When B S Yediyurappa was CM, 22 lakes were revived at a cost of Rs 212 crore. As district in-charge minister, I got Rs 110 crore released to revive 14-15 lakes in a drought-prone district,” he said, wondering how the march would help the Congress.