Karnataka polls: BJP, Congress exchange barbs on last day of campaign

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegation that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader B. Sriramulu had bribed former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan seeking an order favouring a mining company owned by G Janardhan Reddy.

The Congress party, which levelled the charge, also demanded a high level inquiry into the alleged bribery case.

Sriramulu is contesting against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Badami constituency in the May 12 assembly election.

Karnataka election campaign ends

Fever pitch campaigning in Karnataka for assembly elections ended on Thursday evening.

The campaigning by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) was electric in content and delivery, ranging from mud-slinging of rival opponents to religion.

The run-up to the elections saw top ministers and leaders from every party, attempting to woo voters across the state with their signature campaigning styles.

PM Modi has nothing to offer to Karnataka, distracting from issues: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of decimating the country's foreign policy and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have raised with China the Doklam issue and its efforts to encircle India.

Addressing a press conference two days ahead of the voting in Karnataka, Gandhi answered questions on a range of issues, including a BJP leader's remark to dub him "election Hindu" and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party does not understand the meaning of the word Hindu.

He did not give a direct answer to a query about the move of the Siddaramaiah government to recommend minority status to the Lingayats and said that the Congress seeks to empower communities.

"There is a difference between helping a community express itself, empowering a community. What the BJP is busy doing with the Dalits and with minorities is crushing them, killing them, humiliating them. There is big difference. The Congress perspective is -- we help people empower themselves," he said.

Answering a query on BJP's chief ministerial candidate B. S. Yeddyurappa calling him an "election Hindu", Gandhi said he had been visiting temples and other religious institutions.

"For some reason, the BJP does not like this. For some reason, the BJP gets very uncomfortable.

"I don't think they understand the meaning of the term Hindu because the term is a perspective, a viewpoint. It is something in the heart; it lives with you throughout. That statement is demonstrative of how they view their religion. I do not view my religion like that," he said.
 

Cong making desperate attempts to win, alleges Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah today accused the Congress of making desperate attempts to win elections in an "undemocratic" way, but said such machinations would not work and his party would win 130 plus seats.

Shah referred to the alleged "bogus" voter ID card scandal, saying, "it tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election."

"The way bogus voter cards were made in a flat... the way counterfoils of forms for inclusion of voters were found, the way colour printers and computers were found there, it tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election," the BJP president said.

Shah said for the past six months, Congress had been making desperate attempt to win elections in an "undemocratic" way.

"People are behind BJP in a big way and such atempts will be rendered useless. Without any doubt, defeat of Congress is written large on the wall," he said.

Ruling out a hung assembly, Shah said there was no question of seeking support from any party to form government.

"There is no question of hung assembly....We are far ahead of the halfway mark.

As per the feedback I have gathered from my leaders and party workers, we are winning more than 130 seats and there is question of seeking support from anyone to form government," he told reporters here.

"I have traversed 50,000 km across Karnataka ... We have experienced people's ire against Siddaramaiah's government," he said.

Shah, who extensively campaigned in the state, was addressing a press meet here after leading a massive road show in Badami constituency from where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is contesting besides Chamundeshwari seat in Mysuru.

Replying to a query whether party scheduled tribes leader Sreeramulu would be made Deputy Chief Minister (in the event of party's victory), Shah said after the election results, it would discuss the issue with an "open mind."

Shah said unlike the last term, B S Yeddyurappa would remain chief minister for the entire term because the Narendra Modi government at the centre "will be rock solid behind him" to expedite the development works in the state.

"Yeddyurappa will remain Chief Minister for the entire five-year term unlike the previous one where the then government at the centre wanted to remove his government, but the present Modi government will be rock solid behind him."

"Therefore, the question does not arise to disrupt his government. Yeddyurappa will remain chief minister till the end of the term," he said.

Replying to a query, Shah said there is a big ideological difference between Congress and BJP, and his party would never sit with SDPI and PFI, but on the other hand, Congress would join hands with them to form government.

"The Congress is not bothered to take support of traitors," he said.

Social Democratic Party of India is a political wing of Islamic outfit, Popular Front of India.

On Congress President Rahul Gandhi's allegations that the Prime Minister had launched personal attacks, Shah said, "On an average, if you see, such attacks have been for 2 to 3 minutes, but it appeared to be too much because the media played it or the entire day to gain TRP."

"The state election result is very vital for BJP to make inroads into the southern states," he said.

On controversial Reddy brothers, Shah said "no BJP candidate is having case pertaining to illegal mining. Nor do we have any relations with Janardhana Reddy," he added.

Asked why tickets are not given to a Muslim to contest polls, Shah said the party does not do it on the basis of caste and religion, and the media should not do analysis on these parameters as it is bad for the country.

Shah said BJP workers have visited as many as 56,000 polling booths in the state and held 400 roadshows and rallies. More than 35 top leaders of the BJP campaigned, he added.

Rs 315 million unaccounted cash seized in poll-bound Karnataka

A total of Rs 315 million unaccounted cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 58.3 million were seized by the Income Tax department in Karnataka since the state assembly election was announced on March 27, said an official on Thursday.

"Since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 27 after the Election Commission announced the May 12 assembly election, the department has seized Rs 315 million unaccounted cash and Rs 58.3-million worth jewellery," said Income Tax Joint Commissioner G. Ramesh in a statement here.

Noting that the illegal amount seized during the last six weeks was six-fold more than made in the May 2013 assembly elections, he said the seizures were likely to go up by the voting day on Saturday.

"In the present election, we were able to unearth incriminating evidence of misuse of money power from raising unaccounted funds to the distribution of cash and freebies by the contesting candidates," said Ramesh.

The department's investigation wing had shared the evidence with the Election Commission, the state's Chief Electoral Officer) and district election officers for action under the Representation of People's Act, 1951.