'Target Siddaramaiah': Karnataka BJP launches poll charge

The ruling BJP, which flaunted its poll preparedness with a massive 'Janaspandana' rally at Doddaballapur here Saturday, went after Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, indicating the saffron party’s approach as election heat rises in poll-bound Karnataka.

Addressing a 2-lakh-strong crowd, top BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, targeted Siddaramaiah and accused him of presiding over scams when the Congress was in power.

This made it evident that the BJP views Siddaramaiah, arguably the biggest mass leader in the Congress, as a threat in its bid to retain power by winning 150 seats.

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In a fierce speech, Bommai said the "real face" of Congress will be out in the days to come. "(Siddaramaiah) keeps talking about the Anna Bhagya scheme. The poor used to get 30 kg rice for Rs 3. You brought it down to 7 kg. For two years, you gave only 4 kg. Again, for elections, you raised it to 7 kg. The rice came from Modi, only the bag was yours," he said, aiming at Siddaramaiah’s flagship rice scheme.

"There was a scam in Anna Bhagya. [IAS] officer Anurag Tiwari, who was investigating it, died mysteriously in Uttar Pradesh. This is a mirror to your ‘clean’ administration," Bommai said.

"You also ran a big sand business. You sanctioned 36,000 borewells for farmers on a single day without selecting beneficiaries. You did a scam in giving bed sheets and pillows to SC/STs. You did a big (denotification) scam in the BDA Arkavathy scam. The list is long...scam in giving laptops. In minor irrigation, you billed Rs 40,000 crore without any work. And, you accuse us of percentage? Yours was a 100 per cent (commission) government," Bommai said.

He also said the Siddaramaiah government sat on recruitment scams involving the police and teachers.

BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said 3,000 farmers died by suicide under the Siddaramaiah government. "Some 24 Hindu workers died and cows were slaughtered. And, whose side did (Siddaramaiah) take on Hijab?" he asked.

The blistering attack on Siddaramaiah came more than a month after the Congress leader's massive birthday bash that drew lakhs of people is said to have rattled the BJP.

BJP national general secretary CT Ravi said the Justice HS Kempanna Commission report on Arkavathy denotification should become public. Even BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa criticised Siddaramaiah.

Bommai declared that Congress won't get a second chance. "People have seen your maladministration," he said, adding that the 'double-engine' government will prove itself worthy for people. "We'll hold Janaspandanas across the state, make the lotus bloom again. If you have guts, try stopping us," Bommai hollered. "All your scams will be exposed soon."