BENGALURU: The Congress manifesto, promising to ban the proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI) and Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, has triggered a war of words with the ruling BJP accusing the grand old party of inflaming communal sentiments ahead of the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed that the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and PFI grew strong during the Congress period. “We fight elections based on our programmes, they (Congress) fight elections on their promises. It is not right to stir up caste, religion and communal sentiments unnecessarily in elections. This shows the appeasement politics of Congress”, CM said.
“The Congress party today is in the grip of SDPI and PFI, and it cannot get out of it,” the CM alleged. The CM further said, “If we (BJP) talk against SDPI and PFI, the Congress leaders will start to worry. The PFI is another form of SDPI. Congress had openly sought the support of SDPI. The SDPI and PFI grew strong during the Congress period”, Bommai said.
Reacting to the Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar’s statement questioning the relation between Bajrang Dal and Anjaneya (Lord Hanuman), Bommai said, “Congress is acting in such a way as to hurt the sentiments of others. Questioning with the intention to hurt other people is not fair”.
“The relationship between Lord Rama and Hanuman is the sam as that between Anjaneya and Bajrang Dal. Congress should understand this. It is not right to talk in such a way as to hurt people’s sentiments”, CM Bommai said.
On the question of SDPI being the B-team of the BJP, the CM said, “We have banned PFI, why didn’t they (Congress) ban SDPI? They make (Congress) accusations like this to cover up their wrongdoing”, Bommai said. (ANI)