Bengaluru, 22 March

Accusing BJP-led NDA government of freezing Congress' bank accounts fearing defeat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday expressed hope that the people of the country will clearly reject the saffron party and "save" India.

BJP has no faith in democracy and Constitution, but has faith in dictatorship, he alleged, as he demanded that free and fair elections be held. Claiming that the money voluntarily donated by the people was in the Congress accounts, Siddaramaiah expressed outrage about freezing of the entire account for a "small technical reason" and termed it as a "dictatorial attitude".

He said: "BJP troubling Congress like this so as to stop it from contesting the election is dangerous for democracy. This is condemnable." BJP has the mentality of "Manusmriti", the CM said. "For BJP there should be inequality, caste system should be strengthened, unemployment should increase, farmers' problems should not be solved."

BJP's intention is that Congress should not fight against these issues, he further said, adding that "the bank accounts have been frozen so that the Congress party does not have money for elections." "In the name of CAA, Pulwama, Ayodhya, how many more years will you emotionally mislead Indians? You are not responding to the problems of people, but instigating them emotionally..... The people of India will remove you from power this time," he said.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that the accounts of Congress -- the principal opposition party in India -- are frozen just ahead of the elections and claimed that "democracy is under attack." He accused BJP of using muscle and money power to lure opposition legislators and leaders in various states going against the Constitution or anti-defection law.

"Governors are now used as BJP tools, Election Commission is captured by a sinister law, ED and Income Tax departments are unleashed to conduct raids ahead of elections in various states," Surjewala said.