Tiptur: Referring to the burning Lingayat issue, BJP National President Amit Shah on March 26 said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has brought the proposal to accord separate religion and minority status to Lingayats to deny B S Yeddyurappa from becoming Chief Minister.
“This Siddaramaiah government has brought this proposal, not because it has love for Lingayats, but to prevent Yeddyurappa from becoming Chief Minister,” Shah said addressing Coconut Growers Convention here.
“I want to tell to Karnataka people that if BJP wins by majority, we will make Yeddyurappa the Chief Minister,” he added.
The government had proposed separate religion and minority status for Lingayats which has been sent for central government’s approval.
Shah said the proposal, which was rejected by the then Manmohan Singh government at the centre in 2013, to create confusion among people.
He however believed that the people of the state will not be enticed by Siddaramaiah’s divide-and-rule politics.
AICC President Rahul Gandhi should first point fingers at Siddaramaiah for dividing people before accusing BJP for it, Shah said.
He also likened Siddaramiah’s divide-and-rule politics to the Britishers.
“The Congress ship is sinking and to save it, the Congress is making its last efforts, and what it is doing? It is making efforts to divide people. The Congress Chief Minister is playing a la divide-and-rule politics of Britishers,” he said.
Shah also criticized Siddaramiah government for not bringing the proposal earlier.
“The Siddaramaiah government has proposed to accord religion and minority status to Lingayats, but why did it not do it earlier? Because that time, there was no need for gaining votes,” he said.
He also launched a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah government for failing to prevent farmers’ suicide in the state.
“In five years of Siddaramaiah’s rule as many as 3,781 farmers have committed suicides. I want to ask the government, who is responsible for these suicides?” he asked.
Shah said the suicides in Congress-ruled states are always in the increase, whereas it dwindles in BJP-ruled states like Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
“In BJP-ruled states farmers’ suicides are nigh to nothing. Wherever the Congress rules, the suicide of farmers increases, but decreases in BJP-ruled states. If you vote Yeddyurappa to become Chief Minister, I assure you farmers’ suicides will come to a halt,” he said.
