K’taka poll loss proves Modi popularity waning, says Siddu

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday laid into the BJP in the Legislative Council, offering party leaders mock lessons on why they had lost the May 10 Assembly elections.

He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity had been waning and that his “downfall” had begun in Karnataka with the previous polls. He went on to insist BJP should never come to power because of their supposed opposition to social justice.

“I won’t say Narendra Modi isn’t popular. However, it is waning. The graph is trending downward,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that it was natural for political fortunes to change.

“How many seats did you win in 1984? Only two. How many seats do you have now? What comes after this? You’ll win fewer seats. You see, those who are down on their luck will see their fortunes improve and vice versa. It is democracy. Your decline has started from Karnataka,” he added but not without interruptions by BJP MLCs.

“You lost because of what you did in your three-year, ten-month long term: Corruption, casteist violence and communalism,” he said.

“We told people we’d put money in your pocket but you (BJP) took money from their pockets,” he added.

Siddaramaiah pointed out that multiple visits to Karnataka by Modi hadn’t yielded them a victory in the Assembly elections, advising them to not depend on the PM.

“No matter how many times Narendra Modi came here, it didn’t benefit them. Wherever he campaigned, Congress has won,” he said.

Pampa, Basavanna’s ideals still relevant: CM

Siddaramaiah cited humanist figures from Karnataka’s history such as 10th century poet Pampa and 12th century moral reformer Basavanna that proved that there had been resistance against caste, which is “vertical” in nature with one group at the top and another at the bottom with several in between.

“Hitler was ruined because of this mentality. He preached that Germans were the highest and Jews were lowly. It was Germans who died in greater numbers. In the end, even Hitler died of suicide,” Siddaramaiah said. “I’ve often advised the BJP to not indulge in all this,’’ he added.