Amit Shah accuses Congress of dividing Hindus in K'taka

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the ruling Congress party in Karnataka of creating a rift between the Hindus.

Addressing a public rally in Davanagere ahead of the state assembly election, Shah said, "On one hand their party President (Rahul Gandhi)talks about uniting Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, on the other hand their Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) is creating a divide between Hindus. Such a major internal-conflict is not there in any other party."

This comes after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accorded religious minority status to Lingayats, a move criticised by the Opposition leaders as an election gimmick.

Following the move, Shah launched a two-day campaign of the state beginning March 26, in order to reach out to the Lingayats and other minority groups.

At the rally, the BJP chief also assured to work for the interests of the farmers, "I want to assure farmers of Karnataka that we will work for the interests of the farmers in the state."

"There has been a BJP government in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the last 15 years and farmer suicide numbers in these states have been very low. The suicide cases that have been registered were due to depression and farmers' personal issues," he added.

Karnataka will go to polls on May 12, and the results will be declared on May 15.

While the Congress party is trying to retain power in Karnataka, the BJP is pulling all stops to wrestle the southern state into its fold.