Siddaramaiah hits back at Modi, accuses BJP of ‘betrayal politics’
“If Prime Minister Modi had remembered his own party’s history of betrayal, he would definitely not have accused the Congress party of betrayal,” Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
He claimed that several regional parties that had allied with the BJP in the past were later sidelined or “betrayed”, naming the BSP, TMC, DMK, AIADMK, PDP, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and National Conference.
“The list of opposition leaders who are being blackmailed into betraying their own party and joining the BJP is also increasing,” he said.
“People of this country are laughing at the irony of Prime Minister Modi, the leader of such a treacherous party, accusing the Congress of treason,” Siddaramaiah added.
Addressing BJP workers in Bengaluru on Sunday, Modi had alleged that the Congress had betrayed its “25-30-year-old” ally in Tamil Nadu at the first opportunity.
Stepping up his attack on the BJP’s Karnataka unit, Siddaramaiah said the party was like “crabs trapped in a basket”, with leaders pulling each other down and indulging in “political harakiri”. He alleged that there were multiple groups within the BJP opposing former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his family. The CM alleged that Modi lacked the courage to take disciplinary action despite “hundreds of allegations” against Yediyurappa by leaders within the party.
On the current state of the Indian economy, Siddaramaiah questioned whether the Congress was responsible for the crises the country was facing. Referring to Modi’s earlier target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, he said he is now urging people to reduce their gold purchases, reduce consumption of petrol and edible oils, avoid traveling abroad and use less fertilisers. “It should explain what kind of development this reflects.”
Siddaramaiah also said that people are “mature enough” to understand that the difficulties they face in daily life are the result of the country’s “confused foreign policy”.
