BJP accuses Congress of polarisisng Karnataka people

Bengaluru (Karnataka): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday claimed that while the BJP's agenda in Karnataka remains to be development, the Congress' agendas are fixated on polarising people of the state.

Addressing media here, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "A couple of days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing BJP workers, had stated that the party's agendas are three-fold development, fast-paced development and all-round development. The irony is, the Congress' ideology, it seems, harbours around polarising the society of Karnataka. It harbours around religious divide and as we have always maintained, it seems that divide and rule is the policy of the Congress party."

He further claimed that senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad in a public rally had openly asked Muslims in Karnataka to vote for Congress en masse.

"Is this an agenda of development, or is this a communal agenda? It is starkly clear that this is a communal agenda, we have complained to the Election Commission. Law will, of course, take its course but people of this country and people of Karnataka are extremely intelligent to see through this," he added.

Citing another example of communal polarisation, he said, "Ms Priyanka Francis, who has been the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi district since the past four years, at the behest of the Congress Party's top brass, had ordered the removal of saffron flags from the temples of the district. Udupi is known for its culture, religious fervour, for its tradition, how can an administrative officer do away with something that has been happening since ages?"