PM Modi asks Karnataka to ditch Congress for its ‘perverted' sense of vote bank politics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a campaign rally in Karnataka's Sirsi on Sunday, April 28, asked the people of Karnataka to reject the Congress party for what he termed its “perverted sense of vote bank politics.” 

He targeted Congress leaders for initially suspecting the Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case as a “gas cylinder” blast. Additionally, he accused the grand old party of taking support from the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI), known for its involvement in terrorism in the state.

“The way Congress has taken the help of PFI for the vote bank encourages them. The track record of Congress is of shedding tears on the killing of terrorists, you all must remember when such an incident took place in Delhi, a leader of Congress was shedding tears that why a terrorist was killed,” ANI quoted PM Modi from his election rally in Karnataka's Sirsi.

During the rally, Modi asked the people to vote in large numbers for the party candidates Vishveshwara Hegde and Prahlad Joshi.

Modi's remarks follow the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) expressing support for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the ongoing Lok Sabha 2024 elections. 

SDPI is infamous for its links with the PFI and is widely known as the political outfit of the banned terrorist organisation, reported ANI. In 2022, the organisation was declared an ‘unlawful association’ by the Union Home Ministry. 

Apart from targeting the Congress for Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast, PM Modi also accused Rahul Gandi of insulting India's rajas and maharajas. He questioned Gandhi's silence on the atrocities committed by nawabs, nizams, sultans and badshahs to please his voters.

Congress promoting ‘mindset dangerous to an entire country’: PM Modi

While addressing the rally, PM Modi said that Congress is promoting a mindset dangerous to Karnataka and the entire nation. While criticising the rampant crime incidents and the recent bomb blast under the Congress government, PM Modi said, “Crime and terror cannot be weighed on the scales of the vote bank, and cannot be seen through the perspective of the vote bank.”

He added, “But Congress is neither ready nor willing to get rid of its cheap vote bank thinking.” Continuing his attack on the party, PM Modi said that the Congress is “troubled” to see the BJP's government's resolve and dedication. In a direct jibe at the opposition parties, PM Modi claimed that several people want to weaken the Indian government to fulfil their own “ambitions”. 

He claimed that “the game of tum bhi kamao, main bhi kamaoon. tum bhi malamaal, main bhi malamaal” continued during the Congress government. The recent controversy over Sam Pitroda’s remark advocating inheritance tax also found mention in Modi's speech, where he claimed that the party had “planned to snatch people's property and divide it amongst its vote bank.”