Kalaburagi (Karnataka): Former minister and senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa burnt a copy of the Congress election manifesto at the BJP office here, condemning the party for its proposal to ban the Bajrang Dal organisation. He demanded an immediate withdrawal of the manifesto while accusing the Congress of being anti-national and pro-Popular Front of India.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP district office on Thursday, Eshwarappa equated the Congress manifesto with that of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's. "There are a few patriots in the Congress party as well but the party has recently gone into the hands of casteists like former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar. Congress election manifesto is like a 'Hindu versus Muslim election'," Eshwarappa said.
The BJP leader said that the Congress leaders do not know that PFI is a banned organisation. "The Congress party that supports seditious acts has no authority to say that the 'Constitution is sacred'. It is the BJP-led government that has banned the PFI on the grounds that it is a seditious organisation," he said. He predicted the Congress will lose the status of major Opposition party this time just as Ravana lost his power when he set Anjaneya's tail on fire.
Eshwarappa accused Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge of becoming senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's "chela'' (puppet) and alleged him of abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Gandhi's direction. "Talking ill about the prime minister won't make one popular," he said referring to Kharge.
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Responding to the manifesto being set on fire, Kharge said it was completely wrong to burn a party manifesto. "Whether you like it or not, you cannot burn it. Eshwarappa, has set on fire the guarantee given to the people by our party. By such an act, Eshwarappa has insulted the people and the democracy. This is not the right course of action. Tolerance should not be ignored in democracy," Kharge said.
