Post K'taka polls, Congress will become PPP Congress: PM Modi

Taking a jibe at the Congress' losing streak in the state assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said post-Karnataka polls the grand-old national party will become a regional one called PPP Congress - Punjab, Puducherry and Parivar Congress.

"After the Karnataka results, Congress will become PPP Congress- Punjab, Puducherry and Parivar Congress," the prime minister said at the rally here.

He also added that it is the people of Karnataka, who will make the Congress into a regional party called PPP Congress.

Congress, which was in power in13 states in 2014, now governs only three states and one union territory.

And, if it loses Karnataka too, the party would have presence only in Punjab, Mizoram and Puducherry.

"Congress has lost in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura...people across India have rejected the Congress," Prime Minister Modi.

Intensifying his attack on the ruling party in the state, the prime minister said the Congress government in Karnataka is working only for 'Naamdaars' and not for 'Kaamgaars'.

He even held the ruling party responsible for the "sufferings" of the Khadi and handloom sector and depletion of natural resources in the state.

He branded the Congress as corrupt and asserted that "Corruption is key to the existence of the party."

"Congress is scared of losing Karnataka, the reason is leaders and ministers here have made a huge tank. This tank stores money and a pipeline takes money straight to Delhi. If Karnataka goes, what will happen to the leaders in Delhi," said the Prime Minister.

He even accused the Rahul Gandhi-led party of following "tender system in ticket distribution for the polls."

"Whoever promises to send most money to Delhi, all get the CM-ship in Congress," the Prime Minister alleged.

Invoking the Mahadayi river water dispute, Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress of "misleading the people" in regard to the issue.

The Mahadayi river water dispute is a three-decade-old water-sharing issue among the states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The river originates from Karnataka and then flows into Goa and Maharashtra.