Comments
The issue of minority status to the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community is an ‘election storm’ that the Congress has kicked up, and the politicisation of the issue will die down once the Karnataka Assembly elections are over, said BJP President Amit Shah.
Shah said the Congress had accorded the tag of minority religion to the Lingayats only to scuttle BJP State unit chief BS Yeddyurappa’s chances of becoming the next chief minister.
‘Why now?’
Shah sought to know why the Congress had kept the issue on the back-burner all these years, and pulled the trigger on the eve of the elections.
“Why was Siddaramaiah silent for five years and now, just ahead of the elections, he decides to give religion status to Lingayats? When he knows that the UPA government at the Centre had rejected it in 2013, why is he raking up the issue?,” said Shah.
Shah evaded queries on the BJP’s stance on the issue, and denied “motives in visiting mutts”. “I want blessings of all Swamis.”
‘Cong dividing Hindus’
Calling it the “divide-and-rule policy” of the Congress, Shah said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing all he can to unite India , the Congress and Siddaramaiah were “trying to divide even the Hindus”.
Reacting to Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s statement that there was a tacit understanding between BJP and the JD(S), Shah said his party will contest in all 224 constituencies without anybody’s support.
‘AHindu’ leader
Taking on Siddaramaiah, Shah said the Karnakata Chief Minister was not an AHINDA leader, as the Congress had projected him to be, but an ‘A-Hindu’.
AHINDA is the Kannada acronym for minorities, backward communities and Dalits.
‘BJP is farmer-focussed’
On the issue of farmer deaths, Shah put the blame on the Congress government in Karnataka. In BJP-ruled States, the focus was on the farmer, the party chief claimed.
“We can see less farmer suicides than those ruled by the Congress party. The cases in BJP-ruled States are mainly due to depression or personal family issues.”
Shah claimed that the BJP government in Maharashtra is “farmer friendly”. “Farmer suicides have reduced by 30 per cent after BJP came to power in the State.”
Solidarity with ryots
Shah also kick-started the the Mushti Dhaanya Abhiyaan (fistful grain campaign) at Doddabati village near Davanagere. To show solidarity with the kin of farmers who had committed suicide, the BJP chief went from house to house, collecting food grains.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.