K’taka JD(S) chief slams BJP over tour of drought-hit areas

Team Udayavani, Jan 25, 2019, 1:22 PM IST

Bengaluru: The Karnataka JD(S) president H Vishwanath Friday took a dig at BJP over its tour of drought-hit areas in the state after “the toppling bid”, saying they were worried about the “power drought” facing the party at the national level.

Accusing the BJP of attempting to topple the JD(S)-Congress government in the state, he said they declared a ‘ceasefire’ and decided to tour drought-affected areas.

“You are hopping from one resort to another to topple a government formed within the framework of Constitution given to us by B R Ambedkar,” he told party workers in Mysuru.

“Now you have stopped your activities like a ceasefire and decided to go to see the drought. The fact, however, is that you are worried with the drought of power the power drought in the BJP headquarters,” he added.

Recently, two independent MLAs withdrew their support to the government amid alleged attempts by the BJP to topple it. The BJP has, however, rejected the charges.

At the height of the political developments, all the 104 BJP MLAs from the state had stayed put in a resort in Gurugram near Delhi. After returning here on January 19, they have been touring the state.

Vishwanath also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he had spent four-and-half years preparing “garland of lies” and failed to fulfill promises made in 2014.

“People have started assessing prime minister Narendra Modi’s work at the centre. He could not fulfill any of his promises. He spent four-and-half years preparing garland of lies,” he said.

In the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the JD(S) has started organising workers meet all over the state.

He accused the BJP of putting the Ram temple issue on the backburner for four-and-half years and raking it up now.

“Now they (BJP) have started making new promises too. They have suddenly started raking up the Ram Mandir issue. The issue that was kept on backburner has been raised again,” the JD(S) leader said.

Terming the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections as an election gimmick, Vishwanath said it has been brought about without any scientific study.