Challenge excise dealers, not PM Modi: Pralhad Joshi to Siddaramaiah

Hubballi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday attacked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying that he is under the illusion that criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make him famous.

Speaking to the media on Monday in Hubballi, Joshi responded to Siddaramaiah’s statement that, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is falsely accusing the state government of a Rs 700 crore excise corruption scam," saying that “Siddaramaiah, you, who have drowned in corruption and should challenge the excise dealers, not PM Modi,” Joshi said.

"Siddaramaiah keeps criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, perhaps thinking that it will make him famous. But it’s his own misconception," Joshi remarked.

Joshi countered Siddaramaiah by saying that it wasn't Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP who accused the state excise ministry and government of Rs 700 crore in corruption; rather, it was the excise dealers themselves. He urged Siddaramaiah to understand this first.

“The excise dealers are part of his own government. These very dealers have accused Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur of corruption, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi simply referenced this issue. What’s wrong with that?” Joshi questioned.

"In his 25 years in politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never faced defeat. He has been Chief Minister of Gujarat three times and has been elected as the Prime Minister twice. He’s a seasoned politician who has never lost in his career. And yet, you dare speak about him," he said.

“The people of Mysore rejected you in the 2018 Assembly elections from the Varuna segment, even though you were the Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018. But the people have never turned away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Joshi retorted to Siddaramaiah.

He added that as more and more corruption scams within the state government are coming to light, the Siddaramaiah is becoming desperate.

“In the MUDA scam, a tehsildar’s report even shows that stamp duty payments were made on behalf of the Siddaramaiah, which has come out in the open, leaving him cornered,” he added.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack during the campaigning in Maharashtra state that the Congress government in Karnataka has ‘collected’ Rs 700 for assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had stated in Haveri that "I am surprised to see the Prime Minister of this country lie so much.”

While campaigning in Maharashtra, the Prime Minister claimed that the Karnataka Congress was involved in a scam in the excise department, mobilising Rs 700 crores to send to Maharashtra, and Jharkhand, and to spend on the bypolls.

“Today, I challenge PM Modi: if he can prove these allegations, I will retire from politics. But if he cannot, then he should retire. When a Prime Minister makes such allegations, they should at least be close to the truth, but these claims are far from it. In independent India, we have never seen a Prime Minister who lies like this,” he said.