Adityanath tears into Siddarmaiah ahead of K'taka polls

Bengaluru: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah and the Congress party in view of the upcoming Assembly election in the state.

The chief minister said that Siddarmaiah is following the footsteps of Congress president Rahul Gandhi who used to visit temple and talk about Hindutva ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls.

Addressing a BJP rally in Bengaluru, Adityanath said, "I saw a news report where in chief minister Siddaramaih was saying that he was a Hindu. After seeing your strength he is now talking about Hindutva in the same manner as Rahul Gandhi was visiting temple in Gujarat."

He further questioned Siddarmaiah as to why he advocates for beef eaters if he was a Hindu.

"Hindutva is a method of living. It should not be linked with religion, caste, belief or prayer. Hindutva does not advocate eating beef. I want to ask the chief minister that if he was a Hindu and supports Hindutva then is it right to endorse eating beef?" Adityanath asked.

"When BJP government was in power in Karnataka we introduced a bill to impose a complete ban on killing of cow but Congress didn't allow to pass it," he added.

Accusing Congress of dividing people in the name of religion, the chief minister said, that the party has become a burden on the nation because of its corruption and divisive policies.

"During election, Congress tries to divide you in the name of religion. Karnataka should have become a developed state by now, but the Congress has pushed it in backward direction in the last five years. BJP needs to come in power in Karnataka to develop the state and help the youth and farmers. Congress has nothing to with development," he said.

Citing example of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections, where the BJP stood victorious, Adiyantah said that the Congress has been uprooted from several states

Adityanath, who arrived in Bengaluru on Saturday night, earlier in the day also met Nirmalananda Swami in Adichunchanagiri Math.

He is also scheduled to take part in 'parivartan yatra' of BJP which was flagged off by party chief Amit Shah in November in the run-up to the Assembly poll.