No other PM has lied as much as Narendra Modi did: Siddaramaiah

No other Indian prime minister has told “lies” as much as Narendra Modi did, Congress leader Siddaramaiah charged Tuesday, in a scathing attack on the BJP and the RSS.

“Perhaps, in the history of India, no other PM has lied as much as Narendra Modi did. He has also cheated people,” Siddaramaiah said, while making a speech at a preparatory event for Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, DK Shivakumar’s formal coronation scheduled on July 2.

“The Modi government has ruined both health and economy in this country,” the former chief minister said, referring to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown.

“PM Modi announced an economic stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore. Stimulus for who? They said it’s 10 per cent of the GDP, but the cash outgo from the treasury is less than Rs 2 lakh crore. So, it’s not even 1 per cent of the GDP,” he said. “Other countries have given 10-40 per cent of their GDP to tackle Covid-19. But Modi has done only drama by saying ‘bhaiyo, beheno’. He won't say anything apart from that. And, Mann Ki Baat, which is nothing but RSS Baat. They're spoiling the country.”

Siddaramaiah also attacked the Modi administration over the Covid-19 lockdown. “The first case was reported on January 30 in Kerala. On March 24, a lockdown was announced by the PM without any preparation. Then, it was just banging plates, clapping hands and lighting lamps when people’s lives had to be saved. Look at how he instigates people emotionally and misleads the country! Flights should’ve been stopped in February itself. Now, we have over 4.30 lakh cases and it could keep increasing till September. Now is when we need the lockdown,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of “disrespecting” the Constitution, Siddaramaiah said it is only the Congress that can “protect, respect and follow” the Constitution. “They believe in Manusmriti. The RSS and Sangh Parivar don’t believe in the Constitution, let alone democracy,” he said.

Training his guns on Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, Siddaramaiah said his name should have been different. “He should’ve been named as Amavasya instead of Surya,” he said. “He called for the destruction of Ambedkar’s statues and burning of his literature. If Modi respected the Constitution, would this have been tolerated?”

No BJP leader condemned former Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde’s controversial remarks on the Constitution, he said. “No action was taken. It means that they indirectly support such statements," he added.