Hukkeri, 3 May

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed Congress came to power in State with the support of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of banned Popular Front of India (PFI). He also alleged that "anti-national elements" of SDPI were involved in the bomb blast in Bengaluru, he said referring to the Rameshwaram cafe blast on 1 March.

Targeting the Siddaramaiah-led government, he urged it to hand over the probe in the Hubballi student Neha Hiremath murder case to CBI if the State was unable to investigate properly. The top BJP leader addressed a public meeting here in Belagavi for party candidate from Chikkodi Lok Sabha segment Annasaheb Jolle.

"Don't worry, let Congress government do anything...Narendra Modi government will keep Karnataka secure," he added.

Chikkodi along with 13 other Lok Sabha segments in the state will go to polls on 7 May.

Referring to the murder of Neha Hiremath at her college campus last month, Shah said some in the government said that the killing was due to personal issues. "What a personal issue? A girl, who did not want to undergo religious conversion was murdered. I met her mother day-before-yesterday in Hubballi. She told me that her daughter was under pressure to undergo religious conversion," he added.

Neha Hiremath, 23, daughter of Congress councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death on the campus of the her college. The accused Fayaz Khondunaik, who fled from the scene, was arrested by the police subsequently.
Congress cannot keep the country united and secure, Shah said, and listed out the achievements of Modi rule in the last ten years.

"Rahul Baba (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi) used to say don't take corona vaccine, it is Modi vaccine, it is good that people don't listen to him and every one took (the jab). At night in the dark, Rahul Baba along with his sister took vaccination. Rahul Baba you should be ashamed that even during a pandemic like corona, you did politics," he said.

Shah said, in this election, on one side there is Congress which "did Rs 12 lakh crore worth of scam and corruption", and on the other side there is BJP led by Narendra Modi, who despite being Chief Minister and Prime Minister for 23 years, does not have even a single allegation of corruption against him.

"On one side there is Rahul Baba who goes on foreign vacations once in three months, while on the other side there is Modi, who for 23 years did not take leave even on Deepawali and ate sweets with soldiers of the country (on the festival)," he said, as he asked the people to choose between the two. "Whom do you want, 'Pariwarwaadi" (dynast) Congress or BJP that follows 'Parampara' (traditions)," he asked. -PTI