Congress is brand ambassador of conversion, will turn Karnataka in mini Pakistan: BJP

BENGALURU: A day afer Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s cabinet approved repeal of the anti-conversion law and the APMC Act amendments brought in by the previous BJP government, the state unit of the BJP has accused the Congress of being a ‘brand ambassador for religious conversion’.

Addressing a press conference at the party office on Friday, party leaders R Ashoka, B Y Vijayendra and former MLC Ashwath Narayan said the Congress government is out to bring back the reign of Tipu Sultan by repealing the anti-conversion laws.

“There is information about 35 lakh Hindus having been converted due to inducements. Even Dr B R Ambedkar and Gandhiji had opposed forceful conversion. Did they take the opinion of any swamijis before taking the decision? Whom are they trying to please”, questioned Ashoka.

Further, he said, “We had brought in the law to prevent conversion by force or inducements and those wanting to convert wilfully had to submit an application to the deputy commissioner. What could be wrong with that? We will launch a statewide stir against repeal of the laws. The Congress is doing this to please one community and should not have stooped so low for the sake of votes. The Congress will turn Karnataka into a mini Pakistan”, he charged.

“Nobody opposed the anti-conversion law when we introduced it, except for the banned PFI, KFD and some other organisations. Is the Congress now siding with the PFI? We will not allow the law to be repealed”, Ashoka added.

On the APMC Act, Ashoka said it was brought in to free farmers from the clutches of brokers so that they could get better prices. “The Congress does not want farmers to get better prices and is aiding the brokers”, he said. On revision of textbooks, he said the Congress will fill the syllabus with its ideology. He also questioned the government on the conditions imposed for the Gruha Jyothi scheme and asked whey it could not reject the hike in power tariff.

Stating that AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala was acting like a minister, Ashoka also took the Congress to task on the Anna Bhagya scheme and the huge rise in electricity bills of consumers and added that the BJP will launch a social media campaign. “The state will go bankrupt in a year”, he added.

Reacting to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s comments on holding protest in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shikaripura MLA B Y Vijayendra said people themselves will soon start protesting against the Congress government in the streets. “If they want, we will provide the pandals. If the Congress has the courage, it should implement the guarantees without conditions”, he said.

“Having secured a majority, the Congress thinks it can run the government whichever way it wants. They issued the guarantee cards recklessly as they were not sure about coming to power and now they are not able to implement them”, he said. The plan to procure rice from other states is only a ploy to loot money he said and added, “The government can buy rice from our farmers itself”.

Ashoka also condemned that killing of a had constable in Jewargi taluk and said strict action should be taken against the culprits. He also said a goonda raj will prevail under the Congress government.