[ad_1]
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s controversial comments on Lingayats has come as a shot in the arm for BJP, which was on the defensive after several high-profile leaders from the community quit the party following denial of tickets for the assembly polls.
Latching on to the former CM’s comments, BJP said its charge of the community’s “neglect” by the Congress since the “unceremonious” removal of Veerendra Patil stood vindicated. “There’s already a Lingayat CM (B S Bommai). He is the root of all corruption in the state,” Siddaramaiah had said when asked about the BJP’s stance that a Lingayat should be the next CM.
The Congress leader’s remarks were interpreted by the BJP as a bid to “demonise” the entire Lingayat community, the most decisive electoral constituent in the state even as Siddaramaiah clarified that the statement was about the current CM.
BJP was quick to launch a scathing attack against Siddaramaiah, saying he had insulted the entire Lingayat community saying, “It is not right for a former CM to make a statement like this. He has said that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt. The Brahmin community had been ridiculed in the past. Earlier, he had tried to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community when he was chief minister. The people of the state will teach Siddaramaiah a lesson,” CM Bommai said.
Siddaramaiah, lashed out at the BJP for “misinterpreting his statement” and said his comments with particular reference to Bommai were being deliberately misinterpreted to imply the whole community.
Latching on to the former CM’s comments, BJP said its charge of the community’s “neglect” by the Congress since the “unceremonious” removal of Veerendra Patil stood vindicated. “There’s already a Lingayat CM (B S Bommai). He is the root of all corruption in the state,” Siddaramaiah had said when asked about the BJP’s stance that a Lingayat should be the next CM.
The Congress leader’s remarks were interpreted by the BJP as a bid to “demonise” the entire Lingayat community, the most decisive electoral constituent in the state even as Siddaramaiah clarified that the statement was about the current CM.
BJP was quick to launch a scathing attack against Siddaramaiah, saying he had insulted the entire Lingayat community saying, “It is not right for a former CM to make a statement like this. He has said that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt. The Brahmin community had been ridiculed in the past. Earlier, he had tried to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community when he was chief minister. The people of the state will teach Siddaramaiah a lesson,” CM Bommai said.
Siddaramaiah, lashed out at the BJP for “misinterpreting his statement” and said his comments with particular reference to Bommai were being deliberately misinterpreted to imply the whole community.
#Congress #Siddaramaiahs #corrupt #Lingayat #remark #sparks #row #India #News
