Siddaramaiah Slams Modi, Adityanath on Twitter; Says BJP Supporting the Corrupt

The prime minister and UP chief minister are campaigning in Karnataka at the moment.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Credit: PTI

Bengaluru: Stung by the attack launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath against him, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today took to Twitter to hit out at them.

With hashtag #ModiHitWicket, Siddaramaiah posed a question to Modi as he arrived for extensive canvassing in Kalaburagi, Ballari and Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah reminded Modi to mention the “loot of Rs 35,000 crore worth iron ore” allegedly by BJP’s Janardhana Reddy. Congress has alleged that eight “Reddy Gang” members have been given tickets for the assembly elections.

Siddaramaiah tweeted, “As you arrive in Bellary, we look forward to hear your commentary on corruption. Don’t forget to mention Reddy’s record scam score of 35,000 cr & still not out. With star players like Yeddy-Reddy, your score in Karnataka will be well short of 60.”

He also asked Modi how he was asking for votes for “a candidate who is the brother of the mining mafia kingpin G Janardhana Reddy who brought shame to Bellry & the state” (sic).

Siddaramaiah also retweeted former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav’s tweet pointing to an alleged gaffe by Modi during his speech at Kalaburagi today. Modi, while addressing poll rallies in Karnataka, said that Congress is a party that has disrespected the armed forces.

“Forgetting the national heroes, patriots and history is the nature of a family in the Congress. (Jawaharlal) Nehru and V.K. Krishna Menon insulted General (K.S.) Thimayya, who had to resign. They neglected Field Marshal (K.M.) Cariappa,” Modi told an election rally, as he sought to connect with the voters of the home state of the two legends of the army.

Modi said everyone knows what treatment Congress gave to the two legends. He said, “India defeated Pakistan in 1948 under the leadership of General Thimayya. But after the valour, General Thimayya who saved Kashmir was repeatedly insulted by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon because of which General Thimayya had to resign from his post. I want the new generation of Karnataka to know about Congress party’s attitude towards the chief of army, who was the son of Karnataka.”

Yadav tweeted, “No sir, Krishna Menon was Defence Minister from April 1957 to October 1962. Thimayya was Army Chief from May 1957 to May 1961. Sir can’t the PMO afford a fact-checker? It’s so embarrassing!”

Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Karnataka holds its revered son Field Marshal K M Cariappa in high esteem. Instead of doing politics in his name, Modi should list five things he has done for Karnataka.” He also expressed his frustration by saying he “asks questions to Modi but he diverts attention to history, clothes and pronunciations” and posed a few questions again.

Siddaramaiah’s six questions pertained to Centre’s approval to Kannada flag, amendment to rules for banking recruitment exams; making knowledge of Kannada knowledge mandatory for banking jobs in Karnataka, his intervention on Mahadayi river row between Karnataka and Goa; revising Karnataka’s SDRF allocation; stopping divestment of ‘Bengaluru’s jewel’ BEML and rectifying ‘the injustice done to Bengaluru’ by taking away Rafale from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Siddaramaiah also flayed Adityanath for being in Karnataka for electioneering when 64 people lost their lives due to a storm in Uttar Pradesh. “My heartfelt condolences to the families, who have lost their loved ones. I am sorry your CM is needed here in Karnataka. I am sure he will return soon & attend to his work there,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.